
■IHHF 

H 




I 






- 



'IB 



RlftM 



TCI H 

mmm 



I 



i 



mm 






%< 











"o ^ 





Entered at 'Ae Post (73ce, if. Y., as 



LOVELL'S LI BRARY. 

NUMBERS NOW READY; 



Hyperion, by Longfellow, 
Outre-Mer, by Longfellow. 
The Happy Boy, by Bjornson, - 
Arne, by BjOrnson, - 
Frankenstein, by Mrs. Shelley. 
The Last of the Mohicans, 
Clytie, by Joseph Hatton, 
The Moonstone, by Collins Pt. I 
Do. Part II, - - - ... 
Oliver Twist, by Dickens. - 
The Coming Race : or the New- 
Utopia by Lord Lytton, 
Lelia : or the Siege of Granada. 
The Three Spaniards. Walker. 
The Tricks of the Greeks Un- 
veiled, by Robert Houdin. - 
I/Abbe Constantin. bv Halevv, 
Freckles, by R. F. Redcliff. * - 
The Dark Colleen,- - . - 

They Were Married ! - 
Seekers after God, by Farrar, 
The Spanish Nun, - 
The Green Mountain Boy-. 
Fleurette, by Eugene Scril)o. - 
Second Thoughts, 
The New Magdalen, by Collins, 
Divorce, by Margaret Lee. 
Life of Washington, - 
Social Etiquette, 
Single Heart and Double Face, 
Irene: or the Lonely Manor, 
Vice Versa, by F. Anstey. 
Ernest Mai tr avers, by Lytton. - 
The Haunted House, and Cal- 
deron the Courtier, Lytton - 
John Halifax, by Miss Mulock. 
800 Leagues on the Amazon 
The Cryptogram, by Jules Verne. 
Life of Marion. 
Paul and Virginia, 
Tale of Two Cities, by Dicken -, 
The Hermits by Kingsley, 
An Adventure 'in Thule, and 
Marriage of Moira Fergus, - 
A. Marriage in High Life, 
Robin, by Mrs. Parr - 
Two on a Tower, by Hardy. 
Rasselas, by Samuel Johnson. - 
Alice : or the Mysteries, being 
. Part II of Ernest Maltravers. 
"Duke of Kandos, by A. Mathey, 
Baron Munchausen - 
A Princess of Thule, - 
The Secret Despatch, Grant. 
Early Days of •Christianity, by 
Canon Farrar, D. D., Part f. 
-II. 
Vicar of Wakefield - 
Progress and Poverty, 



57. 

58. 
, 59. 
I 60. 
, 01. 

6S 



20 ■ 


05. 


20 


06 


20 


67 


10 




20 


08 


10- 


69 


20 


70 


20 


71. 


20 


72. 


20 


73. 


20 


74. 


20 


75. 


15 


76. 


10 


77 



.20 



10 


81 


20 


82. 


10 


83 


10 




20 


84. 


10 




20 


85. 


20 


86. 




87. 


10 


RS. 


20 


89. 


20 


90. 


20 


91. 


10 






92 


20 


93. 


20 


94. 


.10 




20 


95 


20 


96 


20- 


97 


.90 


98 


.10 


99 


20 





53. The Spy, by J. F. Cooper, - .20 

54. East Lynne, by Mrs. Wood. - .20 

55. A Strange Story, by Lytton. - .20 

56. AdamBede by Geo. Eliot, P't t, .15 

'• " ". •' " II, .15 
The Golden Shaft, by Gibbon, .20 
Portia; or by Passions Rocked, .20 
Last Days of Pompeii, - - .20 
The Two Duchesses, - - - .20 
Tom Brown at Rugby, - - .20 
The Wooing O't. by Mrs. Alex- 
ander. Part I, • " - - - .15 

Do. Part II. - - - .15 

The Vendetta, by Balzac. - .P0 

Hypatia, by Kingsley, Part I, - .15 

Do. Part II, - - .15 

Selma, by Mrs. J G. Smith. - .15 

Margaret and Her Bridesmaids, .20 

Horse Shoe Robinson, Part I - .15 

Do. Do. Part II - .15 

Gulliver's Travels, by Swift, - .20 

Amos Barton, by Geo. Eliot, - .10 

The Berber.by W. S Mayo, - .20 

Silas Marner. bv Geo. Eliot, - .10 

The Queen of the County, - .20 

Life of Cromwell, by Hood. - .15 

Jane Eyre, bv CharlotteBronte, .20 

Child's History of England, - .20 

Mollv Bawn, by The Duchess, .20 

Pilldne, - - - .15 

Phvllis, by The Duchess. - - .20 

Roinola. bv Geo. Eliot, Part I, .15 

Do. Do. Part II, .15 

Science in Short Chapters. - .20 

Zanoni, bv Lord Lvlton, - - .20 

A Daughter of Hetli. . - - .20 
The Right andWrong Uses of the 

Bible. Rev. R. Heber Newton, .20 

Night and Morning, Part I, - .15 

Do. Do. " Part II, - .15 

Shandon Bells, by Win. Black, - .20 

Monica, by The Duchess. - - .10 

Heart and Science. - .20 

The Golden Calf. - - - .20 

Dean's Daughter. - .20 

Mrs. Geoffrey, by The Duchess, .20 

Pickwick Papers. Part I, - - .20 

Do Do. Part II, - - .20 

Airv Fairy Lilian. - - .20 

Macleod of Dai e. ... .20 

Tempest Tossed, Pair 1. - - .20 

Do. "II, - .20 

Letters From High Latitudes. - .20 
Gideon Fleyce, by Henry W. 

Lucy. - - 20 

India and Ceylon, by E.Haeckel. .20 

The Gypsy Queen, - ■ .20 
The Admiral's Ward, by Mrs. 

Alexander, .-.".-• &} 



New York: JOHN W. L0VELL CO., 14 & 16 Vesey St. 



T WO GREAT NOVELS. 

GIDEON FLEYCE. 

By HENRY W. LUCY. 
1 vol. 12mo. Handsome Paper Covers. No. 96 of Lovell's Library. 20c. 

"When 'Gideon Fleyce 1 has been read, the|answer will be that Mr. 
Lucy has sncceeded. He has devised an excellent plot, and he has told it ad- 
mirably. It is partly political ; it is partly a love story, though that element 
has comparatively a small share in it ; and it is a novel of incident. Mr. Lucy's 
comments upon political matters are delightful. " — Scotsman. 

" This is one of the cleverest novels we have read for a long time. The 
author is sure to take a high place among contemporary novelists, may perhaps 
some day prove his fitness to rank among the great masters of the craft." — 
Sheffield Independent. 

" The novel has remarkable constructive excellence and striking situations. 
The flow of easy humour and the extraordinary perception of the ridiculous 
possessed by the aut or have here most facile display.' 1 — Daily News. 

" A very clever novel, and full of promise as a first venture in fiction : a 
highly entertaining story, ' Gideon Fleyce ' is so much above the average of 
novels that the accession of its author — especially as the creator of " Napper," 
to the rank of writers of fiction is deserving of a very hearty welcome." — 
Academy. 

" That is a powerful scene, and the whole of the sensational plot of which 
this scene is the central point, is managed with an ingenuity worthy almost of 
Wilkie Collins."— Spectator. 

" An excellent story, which has the double interest of an exciting plot 
with telling episodes and of very clever analysis of character." — Times. 



THE GOLDEN SHAFT. 

By CHARLES GIBBON, Author of "Robin Gray," &c. 
1 vol. 12mo. Handsome Paper Covers. No. 57 of Lovell's Library. 20c. 

" Mr. Gibbon is to be congratulated on the character of ' Fiscal ' Musgrave, 
which is as original as it is lifelike, and as attractive as it is original. The 
situation which chiefly displays it is well imagined, powerfully worked out, 
and sufficiently striking in itself."— Academy. 

" Excellent in every important respect ; the story is interesting, the plot 
is most ingeniously devised, the characters are cleverly conceived and con- 
sistently drawn, while several of them stand out picturesquely m their quaint 

originality Altogether, we may certainly congratulate Mr. Gibbon on his 

book."— Saturday Review. 

" Mr. Gibbon is at his best in this story. It contains some really powerful 
situations, and its plot is well worked out. The conscientious difficulties of 
the Fiscal, the father of the charming herione, are well developed by Mr. 
Gibbon, and the story will be read with interest throughout."— Manchester 
Examiner. 

" Altogether, the ' Golden Shaft ' is gooe\ and fully equals, if it does not im- 
prove upon, anything Mr. Gibbon has previously written.'— Glasgow Herald. 

1 'It is pleasant to meet with a work by Mr. Gibbon that will remind his 
readers of the promise of his earliest efforts. The story of Thorburn and his 
family is full of power and pathos, as is the figure of the strong-natured 
Musgrave . "— Athenaeum . 

" On the whole, we have seen nothing before of Mr. Gibbon's writing so 
good as this novel."'— Daily News. 

For sale by all Newsdealers and Booksellers. The Trade supplied by The 
American News Company and Branches. 

JOHN W. IiOVEIili CO., 

14 & 16 Vesey St., New York. 



LEVE & ALDEN'S 

Independent Special Round-Trip Ticket 



-TO- 



CALIFORNIA, ONLY $190-00, 

Go,ag via NEW ORLEANS, SAN ANTONIO, EL PASO, TUSCON, 
Arizona, LOS ANGELOS and MERCED, to 

S-a.:et fbaitcisoo, 

Returning via SACRAMENTO to OGDEN, thence over the Denver & Rio Grande 

Railway— THE GRAND SCENIC ROUTE OF AMERICA— to SALT 

LAKE CITY, and all Mountain Resorts in Colorado, PUEBLO, 

MANITOU and DENVER, thence by the Popular 

BURLINGTON ROUTE TO CHICAGO. 



^ First class Passsage Tickets, good to start from 

NEW ORLEANS on WEDNESDAY, APR. 18 

and good to return from San Francisco between May 5 and July 4, 1883. 



The above described Excursion Tickets to 

San Francisco and Return, 

are now for sale at the following rates at LEVE & ALDEN'S offices: 

Hound Trip from New York,, only $225.00. 207 Broadway. 

Boston, " $230.00. 15 State street. 

Philadelphia, " $220.00. N.E. cor. Broad and Chestnut streets. 

Montreal, " $230.00. 136 St. James street. 

Quebec, " $235.00. 28 St. Louis street. 

Cleveland, " $210.00. 221 Euclid avenue. 

Cincinnati, " $200.00. 131 Vine street. 

Chicago, " $195.00. 114 Washington street. 

St. Louis, " $190 00. 521 Pine street. 

New Orleans, M $195.00. 19 Camp street. 
Round Trip from New York, only $225.00. 

Circulars containing detailed information now ready and can be had upon 
application at any of the above named offices of 

LEVE <& ALDEN, 

CMef Office: 207 Broadway, New York. 



INDIA AND CEYLON 



2 



BY 



ERNST HAECKEL. 



w^\x 



TRANSLATED BY 



MRS. S. E. BOGGS 



- 



. 



■ 



NEW YORK: 

JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY, 

14 and 16 Vesey Street. 



Copyright, 1883, by 
JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY, 






INTRODUCTION. 



Ernst Heinrich Haeckel was born in Germany in 
1834, and is now a Professor of Zoology at the University of 
Jena. He was among the first German writers to agree 
with Darwin, and is one of the foremost leaders in that 
school of biologists, having published several works on 
biological themes in which he has advanced some interest- 
ing theories of his own. For earnestness of study, and for 
the forcible and lucid manner in which Prof. Haeckel ex- 
presses his ideas, he ranks at the head of all the scientists 
of to-day. 

I have endeavored in the following pages to give a coherent 
version, if not strictly literal translation of Prof. Haeckel's 
interesting "Letters of Indian Travel," which appeared in 
serial form in the Rundsclum (1882). Although the ter- 
ritory traversed by the Professor is no terra incognita to most 
readers, and many travelers, still he writes so enthusias- 
tically and entertainingly about subjects which have here- 
tofore appeared in merely scientific dress, statistics reports, 
and encyclopaedias, that I trust a version of them will be 
acceptable to the American reader. 

Translator. 



INDIA AND CEYLON 



FROM THE GERMAN OF PROFESSOR ERNST HAECKEL. 



TRANSLATED BY 8. M BOGGS. 



Ok the Way to India. 

" Eeally going to India?" questioned my friends in Jena; 
and, Eeally going to India, I repeated, I know not how 
often after I, at the close of the past winter, fully im- 
pressed with the melancholy dreariness of our North-Ger- 
man February, decided to spend the next winter in the 
tropical sunshine of that wonder-island Ceylon. 

In this age of travel, when no part of our globe is spared 
by the adventuresome tourist, a voyage to India is no great- 
feat. "We speed across the most distant seas in the com- 
fortable and luxurious steamships of the present, in less 
time, and with less ceremony and fewer accidents, than at- 
tended the dreaded journey to Italy a hundred years ago. 
Even a " tour around the world in eighty days" is become a 
familiar thought; and many inexperienced cosmopolitans, 
who possess the funds necessary for such a tour, imagine 
that it gives them a better, a more comprehensive "edu- 
cation," than they could obtain by ten years' hard study in 
our best schools* 



8 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

With this fact in view, I can scarcely hope that my jour- 
ney to India will arouse any particular interest — especially 
as an abundance of the best literature descriptive of that 
wonderful country is already in existence — and I ought 
perhaps to apologize for asking the reader to accompany 
me. My personal interests as naturalist and nature's friend 
alone prompt the journey I am about to undertake. 

The most earnest desire of every naturalist that has made 
the organic forms of life a lifelong study, is to stand face 
to face with the wonders of nature in the tropics; for only 
here, under the enhancing influence of the sun's light and 
heat, are developed those astonishing types of form com- 
pared with which the flora and fauna of our temperate 
zone are but weak and colorless imitations. 

Already as a boy, when poring over my favorite descrip- 
tions of travel, nothing charmed me so much as the primi- 
tive forests of India and Brazil; and later, when Humboldt's 
" Views of Nature," Schleiden's "Plant Life," and Dar- 
win's " Voyage Around the World. " influenced my'plans for 
the future, a journey to the equatorial region became my 
chief desire. Believing that if I were a physician I might 
accomplish my purpose, I studied medicine in addition to 
botany and zoology; but a long period was to elapse before 
the realization of my cherished dream! The various at- 
tempts I made twenty-five years ago, after the termination 
of my medical studies, to accomplish the long-dreamed-of 
tropical journey were of no avail. I was fortunate enough, 
however, to spend a whole year on the shores of the Medi- 
terranean, absorbed in studying the multifarious population 
of its waters. 

Soon after my return from the Mediterranean certain 
professional duties, and an unexpected change in my pri- 
vate affairs, thrust all plans of travel into the remote back- 
ground. 

On Easter of 1861 I entered upon a professorship in the 
University of Jena, a position I have occupied for twenty 
years. Daring this time my vacations have been spent, in 
imitation of my distinguished master and friend Johannes 
Muller, in studying zoology along the seashores. An ex- 
traordinary predilection for the interesting study of the 
lower sea- animals — particularly the zoophytes and proto- 
zoans — gradually led me to visit every coast in Europe. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 9 

In the preface of my "System of the Medusae" (1879) I 
have given a summary of the shores on which I fished, 
sketched, and made microscopic observations. But the 
diversified coast of the Mediterranean, whose attractions 
are, in many respects, far superior to any other place, 
always remained my favorite hunting ground. 

I twice crossed the boundaries of my favorite territory. 
The winter of 1866-67 was spent among the Canary Islands, 
chiefly on Lanzarote, a volcanic island almost devoid of 
vegetation. 

In the spring of 1873 I made a delightful excursion on 
an Egyptian war- ship, from Suez to Tur, of which I give 
an account in my "Arabian Corals" (1875). Both of these 
journeys took me to within a few degrees of the equatorial 
region — quite near enough to give me an idea of its exuber- 
ant vegetation. 

The more a naturalist sees of our beautiful world the 
more desirous he becomes to enlarge his sphere of knowl- 
edge. 

Shortly after my return from Genoa (1880)— where, 
thanks to Mr. Montague Brown, the English consul, I 
obtained many zoological and botanical treasures — chance 
threw into myhands Kansonnet's excellent work on Ceylon, 
and the tantalizing reminiscences of Portofino made the 
wonders of the Indian cinnamon-island appear all the more 
alluring. I consulted various route-books, and was re- 
joiced to find that the "struggle for existence" between 
the several Indian steamship lines had, naturally, reduced 
the high rates of passage, and had doubtless also abated 
many of the nuisances formerly attendant upon an Indian 
voyage. The announcement by the Austrian Lloyd Steam- 
ship Company that they now ran two lines of steamers to 
India (both touching at Ceylon) was of special interest to 
me. My numerous trips on the Mediterranean had very 
favorably impressed me with the Austrian Lloyd, and I at 
once concluded that through them I might at last attain my 
long-cherished wish. The voyage from Triest to Ceylon, by 
way of Aden, requires about four weeks. Six days are 
spent between Triest and Port Said, two days in the Suez 
Canal, six in the Red Sea, and eleven on the Indian Ocean 
between Aden and Ceylon. From three to four days are 
spent in touching at the different ports on the route. Ac- 



10 INDIA AND CEYLON 

cordingly a six months' leave of absence would allow two 
months for the voyage to and from India, and four months 
for travelling in Ceylon. 

Circumstances which need not be here mentioned favor- 
ing an immediate decision, I began at once to prepare for 
the journey. Leave of absence was easily obtained, and a 
generous sum of money for the collection of natural curiosi- 
ties was cheerfully granted by the Grand-ducal Govern- 
ment of Weimar. 

In our day the naturalist who goes to the seashore to 
investigate marine plant and animal life, requires more 
than a microscope and the few simple instruments of 
twenty — nay ten years ago. 

The methods for biological, and particularly microscopic 
research have wonderfully developed in the past decade, 
and a complicated apparatus is now considered indispensa- 
ble for the performance of the simplest tasks. Consequent- 
ly I was obliged to ship from Triest, sixteen chests and boxes. 
Two contained only the most necessary scientific works; 
two enclosed a microscope, physical and anatomical instru- 
ments; two others held the implements required for col- 
lecting, and the means for preserving, specimens of Indian 
flora and fauna. The remaining boxes contained several 
thousand vials, nets of all description, fishing-tackle, 
photographic camera, and the various articles I should re- 
quire for sketching in oils and water-colors; a double-bar- 
relled gun and ammunition, and lastly a supply of linen and 
clothing for a six months' journey. 

In face of this imposing outfit, the preparing and pack- 
ing of which caused me infinite worry and labor, I may 
consider myself rarely lucky in that not a single wish con- 
cerning my undertaking remained unfulfilled. It is a well- 
known fact that among all the investigations of marine 
life undertaken in late years, none have brought to light 
so many astonishing results as the deep-sea explorations of 
,the English zoologists Sir Wyville Thomson, Messrs. Car- 
(jpenter, Murray, Moseley, and others. 

Twenty years ago it was believed that no life existed at 
the bottom of the ocean, that organic life ceased at a depth ^^ 
of two thousand feet; but the deep-sea investigations of ; 
the last ten years have substantially confuted this erroneous 
belief. That the ocean is densely populated to the depth 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 11 

of twenty-seven thousand feet with creatures of various 
species heretofore wholly unknown has been proved; and it 
has also been demonstrated that the different zones of the 
ocean are as abundantly supplied with diversified plant life 
as are the different flora-belts of the mountains. 

The unequalled explorations of the Challenger expedi- 
tion were confined chiefly to the Atlantic and parts 
of the Pacific oceans; the vast expanse of water comprising 
the Indian Ocean was not invaded, except at its most south- 
erly boundary. Consequently an almost inconceivable 
wealth of new and wonderful creatures will doubtless re- 
ward the naturalist who first casts his perfected deep-sea 
net into the unexplored basin of the Indian Ocean. 

Then was not I excusable if, while preparing for my 
journey to this unexplored region, I wished that I might be 
the one to discover hidden treasures? Even though the 
attempt proved abortive, it would still be the first ! 

But deep-sea explorations are a costly pleasure, even 
though they be conducted, as I proposed, in the simplest 
and most inexpensive manner. I could not think of 
undertaking such a project with my own private means, 
but I hoped to receive substantial support from those 
institutions which were founded solely for scientific pur- 
poses. 

In this I was disappointed, and the initial investigation 
of the Indian Ocean remains to be made by a more fortunate 
explorer. For me it is to be hoped that the surface-water 
of that tropical sea will yield so much that is new and 
interesting that my brief holiday will be all too short for 
the full solution of its problems. 

In contradistinction to this and some other far from agree- 
able experiences while preparing for my journey, I received 
the warmest encouragement and support from many valued 
friends, who, directly my plans were made known, sought 
in every way to further them. My heartiest thanks are 
due to Charles Darwin, Dr. Paul Eottenburg, of Glasgow; 
Sir Wyville Thomson, and John Murray, Esq., of Edin- 
burgh. Also to Professor Edward Suess, of Vienna; 
Baron von Konigsbrunn, of Gratz; Heinrich Krauseneck, 
and Captain Eadonetz, of Triest. 

My special gratitude is due to his royal highness the 
Grand Duke Carl Alexander of Saxe- Weimar, the Rector 



12 INDIA AND CEYLON 

Magnificentissimus of the Jena University, and to the 
hereditary grand dnke, through whose kindly agency I re- 
ceived letters of introduction from the English Colonial 
Minister to the governor of Ceylon. 

My arrangements at last completed, and the sixteen 
boxes sent in advance to Triest, I was ready to take leave 
of dear quiet Jena on the morning of the 8th of Octo- 
ber. When the last moment arrived, I found that a six 
months' absence from home would be no easy task for 
the father of a family who had already attained the age of 
forty-eight years. With what different emotions would I 
have taken my departure twenty-five years ago, when a 
tropical journey was the chief aim of my life! True, the 
experience of twenty-five years of teaching and zoological 
study would enable me to accomplish more than I could 
have done a quarter of a century ago. But I was twenty- 
five years older. Would the concrete wonders of tropical 
nature possess the same fascination for me now that I 
had penetrated the abstract dominions of natural philoso- 
phy? 

These and kindred thoughts, together with the most 
doleful impressions of my last farewells to home and friends, 
passed through my brain as the train bore me through the 
cold gray autumnal mists which enshrouded my beloved 
Saale valley. 

Only the tallest peaks of our magnificent musclieUcalJc 
mountains rose above the misty sea; on the right, Haus- 
berg with his " rosy radiant summit," the proud pyramid 
of the Jenzig, and the romantic ruins of Kunitzburg. On 
the left stretched the wooded heights of Ran thai; and, 
further on, Goethe's favorite retreat, charming Dornburg. 
I waved an adieu to these dear old mountain friends, and 
promised to return to them in good health, and richly 
laden with Indian treasures. 

As if to ratify the promise they gave me their friendliest 
morning greeting: the dense fog suddenly fell from their 
shoulders, and the triumphant sun rose into a perfectly 
cloudless sky. Thousands of dewdrops bLized like jewels 
in the azure cups of the lovely gentians decorating the 
grassy slopes on either side of the iron road. 

I took advantage of the several hours' halt in Leipzig to 
make some necessary additions to my travelling equipments, 



INDIA AND CEYLON. IS 

and to enjoy a brief view of the noble masterpieces in the 
public picture gallery. 

Then on to Dresden and Vienna. 

After a brief halt in the latter city I continued my 
journey to Gratz. It was a glorious sunshiny Sunday, and 
the alpine beauties of the Semmering glowed with splen- 
dor. It was twenty years ago when I botanized in the 
woody ravines and flower-adorned alp-farms of romantic 
Steiermark, but every nook on the Schneeberg and the Kax- 
Alp is still remembered with pleasure. In those days the 
youthful Doctor Medicinae was more devoted to the inter- 
esting flora and fauna of the mountains, than to the in- 
structive clinics of Oppolzer and Skoda, Hebra and Sieg- 
mund; and often, while gathering the hardy alpine plants, 
dreamed of the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics he was 
now so soon to see. 

I spent a day in Gratz, where I found really excellent 
accommodations at the " Elephant Hotel." Could a more 
appropriate name have been found for the first hostelry in 
which I lodged on my way to India? The elephant, aside 
from his eminent position as one of the most important 
animals, is conspicuous in the armorial bearings of Ceylon, 
and I accepted the hospitable treatment of the Gratz 
elephant as a favorable prognostic of the acquaintance I 
hoped soon to make with his Indian brother. Just here I 
shall take the opportunity to insert an observation made 
for the benefit of my travel-loving fellows, especially for 
those that care less for the number of black-coated waiters 
at a hotel than for attentive service from them. 

A long and varied experience with hotels of all grades 
has taught me that the traveller may, to a certain extent, 
judge the state and condition of these useful institutions 
by the titles they bear. I have divided them into three 
classes: the zoological-botanic, the dubious, and the dynas- 
tic. I have found that by far the best of the three is the 
zoological-botanic, as, for instance, the " Golden Lion," 
u White Horse," " Silver Swan," " Green Tree," " Golden 
Vine," etc. You cannot be certain of good and cheap 
accommodations in the houses which I have classified as 
dubious, and which have no affinity with either the first 
or the third group; they bear various names (frequently 
that of the proprietor himself), and are of too hetero- 



14 INDIA AND CEYLON 

geneous a character for a definite generalization. I have 
had chiefly doleful experiences — high prices and inferior 
accommodations — with the dynastic class, such as the 
" Emperor of Russia," " King of Spain," etc. Of course, 
hy this classification I do not presume to establish a general 
rule, hut, on the whole, I believe that the critical and un- 
pretending wanderer will find that I am right. The " Ele- 
phant" in G-ratz substantiated its claim to an honorable 
place in the zoological-botanic class. 

Baron von Konigsbrunn, a distinguished landscape paint- 
er in Gratz, who had heard of my proposed journey to 
Ceylon, cordially invited me to inspect the sketches he had 
made while on that island in 1853. The baron travelled 
through the palm forests and fern ravines of the cinnamon 
island in company with Ritter von Eriedau and Professor 
Schmarda of Vienna, the latter of whom has given a com- 
prehensive description of the island in his " Tour Around 
the World." Unfortunately the sketches which Baron von 
Konigsbrunn made, and which were originally intended to 
illustrate Professor Schmarda's work, were never published, 
a fact to be regretted, as they are the best and the most 
perfect of the kind I have yet seen. Alexander von Hum- 
boldt, certainly a competent judge, who submitted the 
views to the inspection of King Eriederich Wilhelm IV., 
expressed for them his highest praise. 

These paintings, which illustrate Ceylon vegetation and 
scenery, possess two different — and, in a measure, opposing 
— qualities, which are rarely found in like works of art. 
They are, a conscientious adherence to nature in the re- 
production of details, and an artistic freedom in the in- 
dividual treatment and effective composition of the whole 
picture. Many of the landscapes by our most celebrated 
artists possess the second, but do not even suggest the first 
quality; while, on the other hand, in many of the so-called 
views of vegetation, by practical botanists, the absence of 
aesthetic perception is only too obvious. For a perfecc 
picture, the synthetic and subjective glance of the artist is 
as necessary as the analytic and objective eye of the natu- 
ralist; in other words, the perfect landscape must, like the 
portrait, unite striking resemblance to the subject with 
artistic perception of individual characteristics, and this 
attribute Konigsbrunn's sketches possess to a wonderful 



INDIA AND CEYLON 15 

degree. I take this occasion to express my sincere thanks 
to the modest as well as gifted and original artist, and 
hope that his charming works of art may soon find their 
way from the obscurity of his studio to a deservedly promi • 
nent place in public. 

On the 11th of October I bade adieu to the multitude 
of old and new friends in Gratz, and continued my jour- 
ney on the Southern Railway to Triest. In the same com- 
partment with me w r as an elderly gentleman whom at a first 
glance I recognized as English, and our first half -hour's 
conversation revealed a very interesting personage. It was 
Surgeon-general J. Macbeth, who had spent thirty-three 
years in India, in the service of his mother country. He 
had taken active part in a number of battles; had travelled 
throughout India, from Afghanistan to Malacca; had 
ascended the Himalaya Mountains, and travelled in Ceylon. 
His varied experiences on land and among different peoples, 
as well as his observations as physician and naturalist, were, 
as you may imagine, highly interesting and instructive, 
and I was almost sorry when our arrival at Triest near 
midnight concluded a most enjoyable conversation. 

The three days I was compelled to wait in Triest for the 
sailing of the Austrian Lloyd steamer were passed in the 
society of old friends, whose hospitable treatment made 
the hours pass so quickly that no time was left for a 
visit to poetic Miramare, that enchanting castle by the sea, 
whose natural beauties eminently fit it for an act in the 
tragedy of " Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico," a promising 
subject for the dramatist of the future. 

Nor was I able to make an excursion to Muggia Bay, the 
body of water so rich in sea animals, which became famous 
through Johannes Muller's discovery of the curious snail 
(Entoconcha mirahilis) which lives in the sea-cucumber 
(Holothure). Aware that the Austrian Lloyd Company 
had frequently accorded special privileges to scientific 
travellers, I hoped to obtain similar favors. I was success- 
ful beyond my expectations, and here express my gratitude 
to the manager of the line, Baron Marco di Morpurgo, and 
to the directors, among whom is my esteemed friend Captain 
Eadonetz. 
' And now to embark! 

I had my choice between the two splendid ships which 



16 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

8ailed at the same time (15th October). The Helios touched 
at Aden, Bombay — where she remained eight days — Ceylon, 
Singapore, and Hong Kong. The Polluce touched at 
Jedda (the famous port of Mecca), Aden, Ceylon, and 
Calcutta. I chose the former vessel, which would give me 
a chance to visit Bombay and obtain a view of the Indian 
peninsula. Besides, the Helios, which was the better, 
faster, and larger of the two ships, was almost new, and of 
very attractive appearance. In addition to this, the name 
had a peculiar fascination for me. Could a more auspicious 
title than that of the ever-young sun-god be found for the 
vessel which was to bear me from the gray fog-regions of 
the north to the radiant sunshine and palm forests of the 
tropics? 

Nomen et omen / Why might not I as well as my neigh- 
bor cherish a little superstition? Surely I might reckon on 
the favor of the sun-god, in whose honor I named a whole 
class of dainty protozoans, Heliozoa, i.e., sun-animals! 
Therefore, most worthy Helios, let this zoological oblation 
kindly dispose you towards an admiring mortal, and safelj 
bring him to the haven whore he would be! 

The very first days of the voyage proved that the gait oi 
our Helios was a capital one. Although the sea was 
pretty rough there was comparatively little motion. 
Especially pleasant was the unusual neatness of everything 
about the vessel; there were no offensive odors from the 
kitchen and engine room — odors which contribute more 
towards seasickness than the rolling and pitching of the 
ship. Consequently I, and most of the passengers, escaped 
being seasick. The weather was uninterruptedly clear, and 
the sea generally smooth. Of all the voyages I have made, 
the one on the Helios was by far the pleasantest. Of 
course the agreeable company on board, and my cordial 
relations with the ship's officers, did much towards making 
it so. 

The larger half of our company was composed of English 
army officers, government officials, and merchants. The 
other half was made up of Germans, Austrians, Bombay 
merchants, and a few missionaries. There was but a 
mcngre representation of the fair sex: only one German 
and five English ladies. My amiable country-woman, who 
sang and played on the piano, contributed not a little 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 17 

towards the entertainment of her fellow-passengers. She 
had spent the summer with her children in Frankfort, and 
was returning to her husband in Bombay — a semi-annual 
separation between husband and wife practised by so many 
German and English residents of India who are solicitous 
about the education and morals of their children. As is 
generally the case on a voyage of considerable duration, the 
passengers on the Helios became pretty well acquainted 
with each other, and formed themselves into little coteries. 
One group was formed by the missionaries, among whom 
was a Mr. Eowe, an American, who has written a very 
readable book on "Every-day Life in India;" a second 
group was composed of the English officers and merchants; 
a third comprised the Germans and Austrians, the ship's 
captain and doctor, and myself. 

As I have said before, the weather during the entire 
voyage continued uniformly fair; the sky was serene and. 
cloudless; the sea smooth, or only gently undulating. Our 
good ship made every one of her ports at the appointed 
time; the victims of the demon seasickness were but few. 

This uninterrupted sameness at length became monot- 
onous. Beading, writing, cards, chess, music, vocal and 
instrumental, everything that is usually practised to re- 
lieve the tedium of a long voyage, had been exhausted the 
first week out. Consequently the five periods into which 
the day was divided by as many meal-times grew to be of 
more importance as the journey progressed. Unfortunately 
for me my poor German-professor's stomach is so very ca- 
pricious on shipboard that— although I am rarely seasick — 
I always lose my appetite, while that of my fellow-passen- 
gers seems to increase in inverse ratio as mine diminishes. 
However, this condition of affairs enables me — as objec- 
tive spectator — to observe the colossal capacity for what 
physiologists term the "consumption of luxuries." I 
have ever cherished a secret admiration for our able cousins 
across the Channel, whose gastronomic feats far surpass our 
own; but what I saw accomplished by an English major on 
board the Helios exceeded anything of the kind I ever be- 
held! This brave warrior enjoyed not only the five regular 
meals, with a liberal accompaniment of wine and beer, but 
most ingeniously managed to dispose of all manner of 
toothsome sweets and various beverages during the inter- 



18 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

yening periods. To me this gastronomic wonder seemed 
to have arrived at that state of development in which the 
perfected digestive organs are capable of constant activity, 
and I am strongly tempted to believe this activity was con- 
tinued throughout the night, for I frequently saw the major 
stagger from his cabin at unconscionably early hours. 

I have heard that the greater number of English resi- 
dents in India who die from diseases contracted in that 
country invite their fate by excessive indulgence of the ap- 
petite. 

As the meals on board an India-bound steamer are famous 
affairs — of vital importance indeed to some of the passen- 
gers — I may as well give the curious reader an idea as to 
what composes them. Coffee and bread are served at eight 
o'clock in the morning; at ten follows a general breakfast, 
at which appear eggs, meats, curry and rice, vegetables and 
fruits. At one o'clock " tiffin" — which is a luncheon of 
cold meats, bread and butter, potatoes, and tea. At five 
o'clock the regular dinner is served: soup, meats, with at- 
tendant relishes, farinaceous dishes, dessert, fruits, and 
coffee. Lastly, at eight o'clock in the evening a meal of 
tea, bread and butter, etc., concludes the list. 

Very few of the passengers fail to make their appearance 
in the dining-saloon at the appointed hours. After meals 
the passengers promenade the deck, or recline in comfort- 
able Chinese chairs, and discuss the never-changing tint of 
the azure sky and water. 

An ever- welcome incentive to increased mental activity 
are the different marine creatures which occasionally ap- 
pear: dolphins disporting around the vessel, gulls and pet- 
rels encircling gracefully overhead, or darting down upon 
their finny prey. Sometimes swarms of flying-fish skim 
swiftly across the crests of the waves. The delicate medusae 
always charmed me most, and I was only sorry that the 
swift course of the vessel prevented me from securing some 
of these beautiful animals. In the Mediterranean Ocean, 
which is especially rich in sea-nettles, I saw two mammoth 
specimens: a blue Pilema pulmo, and a golden- brown Coty- 
lorhiza tuberculata, and in the Indian Ocean a rose-colored 
Aurelia, and a dark-red Pelagia. 

The voyage from Triest to Bombay (twenty-four days) was 
accomplished under such favorable conditions that there is 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 19 

scarcely anything of interest to chronicle. My former vo} r - 
ages iti the blue Adriatic were chiefly along the picturesque 
shores of Istria and Dalmatia, the rosemary-scented islands 
of Lissa and Lesina, on the latter of which, in 1871, I 
spent a very pleasant month in the Franciscan monastery 
with the eminent Padre Buona Grazia. 

This time our course was more toward the west — toward 
the middle of the Adriatic, as we were to land for several 
passengers at Brindisi. Above the heights of Canossa 
hung a black cloud, the shadow, perhaps, of — but I will 
not introduce politics here! 

On the morning of the 17th (October) we landed at Brin- 
disi. As we were to remain until noon I went ashore to view 
the few unimportant remains of ancient Brundusium, and 
wandered along the ramparts to the railway station. This 
structure, as well as the modern city itself, is not what 
one would naturally expect from the ostentatious title the 
latter assumed at the opening of the Suez Canal : the 
"entrepot for the commerce of the world." 

The overland mail is transferred to the steamer imme- 
diately after the arrival of the mail train, and the passen- 
gers — those going to and those returning from India — make 
the change from the cars to the steamer or vice versa with 
equal celerity, seeming in no way disposed to rest or refresh, 
themselves in the only hotel in the place. 

Both hotel and railway station were deserted the morn- 
ing I was there ; and not a soul was to be seen except 
the telegraph operator and a station porter. The flat 
coast with its vegetable gardens, plantations of reeds, and 
scattered date-palms, is very uninteresting. An old 
cathedra] with a stately dome south of the city is the 
only object worth transferring to the sketch-book. 

The English general whom, with his family and retinue, 
we were to have taken on board, did not make his appear- 
ance — his luggage having failed to arrive with him on the 
train — so we set sail again at noon without him. The fol- 
lowing morning we steamed past the Ionian Islands; with 
pleasure I hailed the sight of stately Oephalonia, and greeted 
proud Monte Nero, on whose snow clad height I once spent 
a memorable day in the shadow of a majestic Finns Ccplia- 
lonica — a noble evergreen found only on this island. 
Farther on we passed romantic Zante — " Fior di Levanfce" 



20 INDIA AND CEYLON 

— sailing so close to its southern shore that we could plainly 
see the long rows of vaulted grottoes and eaves in the red 
marble cliffs. In the afternoon Epirus appeared on our 
left, and on our right the solitary island of Stamphania. 
Late in the evening we passed battle-stained Navarino; no 
less attractive and picturesque was the view of Candia, 
whose southern coast we skirted on the 19th. 

Fleecy clouds, scudding before a fresh breeze across the 
deep blue sky, cast fleeting shadows on the rugged bosom 
of the island, and occasionally enveloped Mount Ida's snow- 
crowned head. The next morning there was nothing but 
water on every side; but the increasing warmth of the 
temperature, which made us change our heavy clothing for 
lighter summer attire, apprised us of the nearness of the 
African coast. 

When we went on deck on the morning of the 21st the 
Egyptian shores were not yet in sight, but the water of the 
Mediterranean had lost its incomparable azure tint, and was 
of a greenish hue that, as the ship progressed, gradually 
changed to a dirty greenish-yellow — the effect of the muddy 
waters of the Nile. And now appeared numbers of tiny 
sailing craft, principally Arabian fishing-boats. A huge 
sea- turtle drifted past the vessel; several land-birds flew on 
board, and at twelve o'clock noon we sighted the light 
tower of Damietta. At four o'clock a small steam launch 
brought a pilot to the Helios, and an hour later we cast 
anchor in the harbor of Port Said, which is at the northern 
entrance of the Suez Canal. The Helios remained here a 
day to take in coal and provisions. In the evening I and 
a number of the passengers went ashore to a cafe, where we 
met the doctor of the Polluce and several of her passengers 
— that ship having arrived at the same time with the Helios. 

The following morning I mounted to the top of the light- 
tower, which is 160 feet high — the tallest in the world. Its 
electric light is seen at a distance of twenty-one nautical 
miles. The massive walls of the tower are built of the 
same material as that in the moles of the harbor — an arti- 
ficial stone which is composed of two parts sand and one 
part hydraulic lime. The view from the tower did not 
come up with my expectations, as, with the exception of 
the town itself, and the flat stretches of sand surrounding 
it, nothing but water is to be seen. 



INDIA AND CEYLON 21 

I next visited the costly piers, which were constructed, at 
an enormous outlay of money and labor, to protect the en- 
trance of the canal from its two principal enemies: the mud 
from the mouths of the Nile, and the sand from the desert. 
The western mole has a length of 3000 metres, and is con- 
siderably stronger than the one on the east, which is only 
half as long. For the construction of these moles 30,000 
blocks of stone — each of 10 cubic metres, and 20,000 kilo- 
grams weight, — were required. 

From the harbor I sauntered to the Arabian part of the 
town which is separated from European Port Said by a 
stretch of sandy desert ; both quarters consist of parallel 
rows of streets which cross each other at right angles. The 
motley and original scenes in the filthy streets were the 
same one sees in every smaller Egyptian city, and in the 
suburbs of Cairo and Alexandria. 

The European quarter is composed chiefly of shops and 
stores, and has perhaps 10,000 inhabitants. The expec- 
tations of grandeur entertained by the founders of Port 
Said have been only partially realized, and the imposing 
" Ketherland hotel" already wears an air of solitude and 
desertion. I purchased a number of articles, considered 
indispensable by the voyager to India ; among them a white 
broad-brimmed sold hat, and a comfortable bamboo exten- 
sion-chair. 

So much has been written about the Suez Canal — the 
wonder of modern times — that I shall not weary the reader 
by repeating well-known facts. T7e passed through the 
greater part of the canal on Sunday (23d). The morning 
in Menzaleh Lake was delightfully fresh and clear ; thou- 
sands of pelicans, flamingoes, herons, and other aquatic 
fowl literally covered the sand-banks with which the lake 
is interspersed. After crossing Abu Ballah Lake we en- 
tered the narrowest part of the canal at El G-uisr, where- 
occurs the deepest cutting in the whole line. The high 
walls of» sandy soil on either side are studded here and 
there with gray tamarisk shrubs ; swarms of Arab children 
appear along the banks and clamor for MclcsMsli. Several 
boys play the flute and dance with considerable grace. At 
neon we pa.ssed Ismalia, the deserted city founded by De 
Lesseps, and in the evening we anchored in the Bitter 
Lakes. 



22 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

Travellers to India dread the voyage through the Eed 
Sea, it being the hottest and most disagreeable part of the 
route. Although it was the cooler season of the year we 
on the Helios were fully convinced that the dread afore- 
mentioned was well founded. But two thirds of the Red 
Sea, or Arabian Gulf, are within the torrid zone, yet the 
entire expanse of water composing it might well be called 
a tropical sea. Similar physical peculiarities characterize 
its shore from Suez to Perim — from 30°-13° N. Lat. In- 
deed the dissimilarity between its northern and southern 
extremities, removed from each other by a distance of 
three hundred miles — is much less than the difference be- 
tween the Eed Sea at Suez and the Mediterranean at Port 
Said, although the two localities are separated by but a 
narrow isthmus. But this bridge of land, which is the 
connecting link between Asia and Africa, has existed for 
millions of years, consequently the animal and vegetable 
population of the neighboring seas have developed perfectly 
independent of each other. Those along the Mediterranean 
shore belong to the Atlantic Ocean, while those of the Red 
Sea country are allied to the flora and fauna of the Indian 
Ocean. Both shores of the Red Sea, the eastern coast of 
Arabia, as well as the western coast of Egypt, are almost 
devoid of vegetation; not a single large river flows from 
them into the sea. Above the sterile shores, on either side, 
tower lofty mountain chains whose aspect is of the most 
forbidding character. Between these ranges, which glow 
with the intense heat from the sun, the narrow Arabian 
Gulf lies like a trench between two high walls; here, dur- 
ing the hot summer months, the mercury rises — in the 
shade at noon — to 40° R. ! I was assured by the officers of 
the Helios, who had made the voyage during these periods, 
that this terrible heat was almost intolerable, and that often 
they had been afraid reason would desert them. Even yet, 
at the end of October, the heat was intense. The ther- 
mometer, which hung in a shady corner on deck, registered 
from 22°-26° R., and once in the "airy" cabins the mer- 
cury rose during the day to 32°, and at night it stood at 
26°. The little air that stirred was oppressive, and every 
attempt to mitigate the intense heat proved unavailing. 
Every window, every hatchway, was left open day and night; 
two rows of ventilating chimneys conducted air into the 



INDIA AND CEYLON 23 

hold of the vessel; the punkas in the saloons were kept 
constantly in motion. The air from these huge fans, to- 
gether with an unlimited supply of ice water, alone enabled 
ns to endure the excessive heat. 

At seven o'clock on the morning of the 27th we crossed 
the Tropic of Cancer, and I breathed, for the first time, the 
fervid atmosphere of the torrid zone. The sky directly 
above us was perfectly clear, but away in the east, above 
the Arabian coast, loomed dense masses of storm-clouds 
that were illumined every second by flashes of heat light- 
ning. There was a repetition of this cloud-picture in the 
eastern sky every evening, but no rain-storm came to re- 
fresh us. The first three nights in the tropics, the mercury 
never once fell below 25° in the cabins. I, as well as most 
of the gentlemen, slept on deck, where it was at least three 
degrees cooler. 

On the night of the 30th we passed the straits of Bab- 
el-Mandeb, and the island of Perim — the Gibraltar of the 
Eed Sea — and on the morning of the 31st we anchored in 
the G-ulf of Aden. Aden, as you know, is situated on a 
rocky peninsula, that, like Gibraltar, is connected with the 
mainland by a narrow neck of land. In 1839 it fell into 
the hands of the English, who fortified it, and made it an 
important station on the route to India. It has a popula- 
tion of 3000 souls. Most of the ships stop at Aden for coal 
and provisions; but, as the cholera had been raging there 
for two months, and we were not certain whether we would 
be allowed to land, we had taken in supplies at Port Said. 
However, on landing we found that the epidemic had 
shortly before entirely disappeared. The Helios was 
immediately surrounded by boats, and all sorts of peculiar 
wares were offered for sale by the dusky natives — ostrich 
feathers and eggs; lion and leopard skins; antelope horns; 
formidable saws of the saw-fish; dainty little baskets and 
trays, etc., etc. I was more attracted by the venders of 
these articles; there were genuine Arabs, negroes, Somalis, 
and Abyssinians. Most of them were of a dark-brown color, 
that, in some shaded into a reddish bronze, and in others to 
the deepest black. Some of them had their hair dyed red 
with henna, or bleached white with lime; and the greater 
number wore only a white cloth around the loins. We were 
greatly entertained by the swarms of dusky children — from 



24 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

eight to ten years old — who rowed out to the ship in tiny 
canoes made of hollow logs, and darted into the water head- 
foremost for the coins flung to them by the passengers. As 
we did not go ashore we saw but little of the town and its 
fortifications. The volcanic rocks on which the houses are 
scattered are rather picturesque. The prevailing color 
of the naked walls of lava is a dark brown that is here 
and there relieved by the dingy green of a few scant shrubs. 
In midsummer, life on this glowing pile of rock must be, 
for the English garrison, almost unendurable; and the 
officers are justified in naming the place the "Devil's 
Punch-bowl." 

After a six hours' delay at this inhospitable port we set 
sail again for Bombay. Nothing of special interest occurred 
during the eight days' voyage across the Indian Ocean, 
The autumn weather was delightful; that we were in the 
influence of the north-east monsoon became daily more 
perceptible. Although the mercury still lingered in the 
neighborhood of 20° R, a fresh breeze mitigated the heat 
during the day, while the cool nights convinced us that we 
were beyond the oppressive influence of the Eed Sea. The 
water, broken into ripples by the fresh wind, was constantly 
in motion; its color was a delicate blue-green — at times the 
tint of lapis-lazuli, but never the intense blue of the Medi- 
terranean. Sometimes the sky would be perfectly clear; 
then again fleecy clouds would entirely obscure it. Every 
afternoon dense cloud-masses gathered along the horizon 
in the north-east and south-west, and these the setting sun 
would transform into the most gorgeous spectacle — an ever- 
new, ever-changing panorama that vanished all too quickly 
from our admiring gaze. 

I stood for hours at the prow and watched the myriads 
of flying-fish that darted from the waves at the approach 
of the vessel. But more attractive always were the me- 
duse, of which we passed scores, blue rhizostomes, rose- 
colored aurelias, and red-brown pelagias. I particularly 
regret my failure to secure a remarkable siphonophora — of 
the species we call Porpita — that passed us on the 4th of 
November. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 25 

II. 

A Week in" Bombay. 

A glorious and memorable day for me was tbe 8th of 
November. On that day I first set foot on tropical earth, 
and looked with astonishment on its animal and vegetable 
wonders. 

A whole hour before sunrise I went on deck, and beheld 
advancing through the mists of dawn the deeply-dented 
coast of Bombay, above and beyond which rises that singu- 
lar range of mountains, the "Bhor-Grhaut." 

These mountains, which form the boundary wall between 
the extensive table-land of the Deccan, and the flat, nar- 
row coast of Concan, the littoral lowlands of the Indian 
peninsula, are composed of plutonic basalt, syenite, and 
other rocks, and are so cloven and crenelated that one 
almost believes one is looking at colossal fortresses, pago- 
das, and battlements. 

The morning sky was tinted with delicate evanescent 
hues which suddenly vanished altogether when, from be- 
tween two broad belts of vapor, the splendid Indian Helios 
came forth to greet his gallant namesake from the north. 
And now the physical details of the approaching shore 
were clearly revealed; the most prominent features are the 
extensive groves of Palmyra palms, and the magnificent 
harbor, in which thousands of ships may safely ride at 
anchor. Of the city itself we could see only the detached 
houses of the Colaba quarter on the south-eastern point of 
the island, the imposing masonry of the stately fortress, 
and, in the distance, the verdant crest of Malabar Hill, 
with its numerous villas and gardens. The tumult and 
bustle among the shipping in the roomy harbor was very 
interesting. Before us lay two white ironclad monitors, 
with revolving turrets, most efficient defenders of the tropi- 
cal city. Farther on we passed two large transports, on 
which were hundreds of English soldiers; and still farther 
on we wended our way through whole fleets of steamers 
that fetch and carry freight and passengers from every na- 
tion under the sun. 

Shortly after sunrise the Helios anchored near the 
"Apollo-bunder," the place of debarkation; sanitary and 



26 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

customs officials came on board, and very soon the company 
that, for twenty-four days, had occupied the swimming 
hotel, dispersed in all directions. Hurried farewells were 
spoken, cards and good wishes exchanged, then each one 
made all possible haste to reach the long-wished-for terra 
firm-a. I was invited by a hospitable countryman of mine, 
Herr Blaschek, the husband of the German lady on the 
Helios, to spend the week of my sojourn in Bombay with 
him on Malabar Hill. Knowing well how the traveller's 
freedom of movement is restricted by the disagreeable 
boarding-school constraint of the English hotels in India,, 
I gladly accepted Herr Blaschek' s invitation; and, although 
I was surrounded by unusual splendor and magnificence — 
indispensable necessaries to the wealthy European in India, 
but rare luxuries to the modest German traveller — I soon 
felt perfectly at home among the palms and bananas of 
Blaschek villa. 

It is of course impossible to become thoroughly ac- 
quainted with a place like Bombay in one short week; I 
shall not,- therefore, attempt a detailed account of its 
numerous attractions. I had read and heard very little 
more about Bombay than that it was, after Calcutta, the 
largest and most important city of British India; that its 
commercial reputation was world-wide, and that it had a 
mixed population. I never saw in any of our art exhibi- 
tions views of this city or of its surroundings; imagine then 
my surprise when I found here sights which, for beauty and 
grandeur, can be compared only with those, of Naples or 
Cairo — or, better, a peculiar combination of those two 
widely-dissimilar cities. Bombay is like Naples in its 
charming situation on an undulating and verdure-clad 
shore, its insular appendages, and its mountains. It is 
like Cairo, in that it contains a motley and picturesque 
population, representatives of every clime and race, and in 
the intense hues both nature and art have given their mul- 
tifarious creations. 

The city of Bombay is situated on an island which has 
an area of twenty-two square miles; it lies in lat. 18° 56' 
long., 72° JST. 56' W. The island was first discovered and 
taken possession of by the Portuguese in 1529, who called 
it Buona BaMa (Good Bay), because of the large and ex- 
cellent harbor which encloses it and the several adjacent 






INDIA AND CEYLON 27 

islands. (It is also said that Bombay is derived from 
Bomba-Devi, the name of the Indian goddess of the sea.) 

In 1661 the Portuguese ceded Bombay Island to the 
English, who at first scarcely knew what to do with their 
n%w possession. Its development was hindered chiefly by 
the extensive marshes which covered its surface, and which 
were supposed to render the climate unhealthy. When 
these swamps were drained, and other improved conditions 
established, the island rapidly developed — especially since 
1820, when Mountstuart Elphinstone assumed the reins 
of government — and in the last fifty years Bombay has be- 
come the third largest commercial city in Asia. 

Its present population is perhaps 800,000 (including 
8000 Europeans and 50,000 Parsees). In 1834 there were 
but 234,000 inhabitants; in 1816, 160,000, and in 1716, 
only 16,000 souls. 

Bombay, through her position as medium for the entire 
trade and commerce of the Indian Orient, and as connect- 
ing link between Asia and Europe, has again attained the 
prominence which was hers in the time of her greatest 
prosperity, the antiquity of Alexandria. Her most im- 
portant traffic is cotton, in which she is surpassed only by 
New Orleans, in North America. 

The immense harbor, as secure as it is extensive, is the 
largest and best in India. It opens towards the south, is 
bounded on the north by the mainland, on the west by 
Bombay Island, and on the north by a group of smaller 
islands" The island is rectangular in shape, and extends 
north and south; bridges connect its northern extremity 
with the island of Salsette, and the mainland. The greater 
portion of the northern half is covered by the extensive 
palm-forests of Mahim. The southern half consists of two 
long promontories, which are said to resemble the uneven 
claws of a crab, and which enclose the broad expanse of 
water known as Back Bay. 

Of these two tongues of land, the western, which is the 
shorter and the higher — it is very like the Posilippo, near 
Naples — is Malabar Hill, the delightful villa quarter of 
Bombay. Beautiful gardens ornamented with luxuriant 
tropical plants surround the numerous elegant villas or bun- 
galows which are the homes of the more distinguished resi- 
dents of Bombay. On the eastern tongue of land is the 



38 INDIA AND CEYLON 

suburb of Colaba, which contains the cotton market and 
the tents and barracks of the English soldiers. At the 
northern extremity of Colaba, between it and the fort, is the 
Apollo bunder, the handsome quay, on which the traveller 
to the Orient first sets foot. The name of this landing- 
place is not derived from that of the beautiful Greek god, 
but from pallow (fish), which eventually became Apollo. 
Pallow-bunder is Indian for fish-market. There is an 
excellent hotel on the quay, the only large and first-class 
hotel in Bombay, and here, on the balcony, in full view of 
the harbor and mountains, I enjoyed my first breakfast in 
India. On the esplanade of the Apollo-bunder, as on the 
Santa Lucia at Naples, the greatest activity prevails, espec- 
ially in the evening, when the military band adds music to 
the attractions of the place, and the wealth and fashion of 
Bombay appears. Numbers of elegant equipages roll along 
the bay shore, while the native population amuses itself in 
its own peculiar manner around the bonfires on the strand. 
That portion of the island between Malabar Hill and Cola- 
ba, is occupied by the two most important sections of the 
city the "Fort," and the "Black Town." The former 
encloses the greater part of the European quarter, in which 
are to be found most of the public buildings, as well as 
most of the counting-houses and offices of the European 
residents. 

Most of the public buildings, which were erected at an 
enormous expense in the last twenty or thirty years, are 
imposing structures, with the Gothic arches and peristyles 
of the Venetian palaces, architectural characteristics that 
are strangely at variance with the wanton luxuriance of 
the tropical vegetation around them, and the motley cur- 
rent of Indian life surging at their portals. The proper 
theatre, however, for scenes of Indian life is in the Black 
Town — the quarter inhabited by the native population. 
When I first visited this part of Bombay I was vividly re- 
minded of Cairo. The public display of Oriental wares in 
the crowded bazaars, the cries of the venders, the gay cos- 
tumes or half-naked forms of the surging throng in the 
narrow streets, the tumult of vehicles and horses — all these 
are like what you may see in the business quarters of Cairo. 
But the longer you are surrounded by the turmoil of this 
Indian city the more apparent becomes the difference be- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 29 

tween it and the cities of Egypt. The north-western por- 
tion of the Black Town (which is called Girgaum) is of a 
more pleasing aspect; here, in the shade of graceful cocoa- 
palms, are picturesque native huts, which, with the nude 
children playing around them, the gayly-dressed women 
and dusky men, pretty zebus, horses, dogs, monkeys, etc., 
offer a variety of the most enchanting sujects to the genre 
painter. 

To adequately describe the diverse manners and customs 
of Bombay's heterogeneous population passes the power of 
my pen. The Hindus, who form the largest section, are 
of rather diminutive stature, delicate build, and dark brown 
color. The Hindu children are most charming; their little 
naked forms are to be seen everywhere. Even the adult 
males of the lower classes wear only a narrow scarf around 
the loins; consequently the artist or sculptor might here 
with advantage study the structure of the human form, 
the youths of sixteen to twenty years offering specially 
fine models. Indeed, one might justly call these shapely 
lads the "fairer sex;" their features are often refined and 
noble, and distinguished by a dreamy expression that is 
very attractive. There are also some neat figures among 
the women, whose simple flowing garments give them an 
exceedingly graceful appearance, but a really handsome 
feminine face is rare. The girls marry very young — at ten 
or fifteen years of age; they fade quickly and become ex- 
tremely ugly old women. In addition to their natural 
homeliness they disfigure their faces by wearing in the left 
nostril a silver hoop adorned with precious stones, and many 
of these nose-rings are so large that the mouth and chin 
are covered by them. The women also chew betel, which 
stains the lips and teeth a vivid yellow. The forehead is 
striped with various colors to indicate the caste of the 
wearer, the arms are tattooed, and both sexes wear silver 
bangles and rings around the ankles and toes. In this 
garb the Hindu, although, he is descended from the same 
race — the Aryan — as that of our European forefathers, ap- 
pears a genuine "savage." Caste distinctions and the 
Brahminical faith prevail among them to this day; the 
Hindu still burns the bodies of his dead, and, when riding 
along the shore of Back Bay, you may see in the immediate 
vicinity of the railway station the huge ovens in which by 



30 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

the simplest process the dead bodies are transformed to 
ashes — a more convenient and less costly method of crema- 
tion than is at present practised in Gotha. According to 
the census in 1872 more than three fifths of the inhabitants 
of Bombay are orthodox Hindus under Brahminical domi- 
nation; 140,000 — more than one fourth the whole number 
— are Mussulmans, and only 15,000 — scarcely one forty- 
fifth — are Buddhists. A few thousand Jews, Chinese, 
Africans, and a mixture of all nationalities make up the 
total. Accordingly you may imagine the heterogeneous 
character of the throng in the streets of Bombay, and guess 
what an infinite variety of types, forms, customs, and man- 
ners are here mingled together. Perhaps in no other city 
on the globe are more languages heard than in Bombay — 
especially in the European quarter, where every known 
tongue has its representative. One of the most important 
components of the population of Bombay — as well as in all 
Indian cities — is the Parsee, or Guebre. They number 
about 50,000 — only one twelfth of the whole number — but 
their enterprise aud industry have won for them such in- 
fluence that they play a prominent part in all the affairs of 
the city. They are descended from those ancient Persians 
who, after the conquest of Persia by the Mohammedans in 
the seventh century, refused to accept the faith of their con- 
querors, and clung tenaciously to the doctrines of Zoroaster. 
After their expulsion from Persia the Parsees fled to the 
island of Ormuz, from whence they scattered over India. 
They marry only among themselves, consequently the 
purity of their race is preserved. Aside from their 
peculiar dress, they may, at a first glance, easily be distin- 
guished from all the other races. The men are tall and 
stately — most of them corpulent; they have yellowish com- 
plexions, and are on the whole a handsomer and more 
robust people than the effeminate Hindus. They wear a 
peculiar long white cotton gown, wide trousers of the same 
material, and a tall mitre-shaped hat. Their features ex- 
press energy and sagacity; they are frugal and sober, and, 
like the Jews in Europe, thoroughly understand how to ac- 
cumulate large fortunes. Many of the wealthiest residents 
of Bombay are Parsees. As hotel-keeper, ship-builder, 
mechanic, and technicist, the Parsee has won for himself 
an enviable reputation. They are justly celebrated for 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 31 

their domestic virtues. The dress of the Parsee farmer 
consists of a single long simply-fashioned garment of some 
bright color: green, red, yellow, etc. The wealthier Parsee 
children are frequently seen driving about the streets clad 
in the most gorgeous raiment of gold and silver embroid- 
ered stuffs. Many of them live in beautiful villas, sup 
rounded by all the luxuries, and no doubt arouse the jeal 
ous envy of many an impecunious Christian from Europe. 

A number of Parsees have founded useful and beneficial 
institutions; several have been knighted for services ren- 
dered the British Government. The public spirit and enter- 
prise of the Parsee, evidences his freedom from priestly 
domination. His faith — the doctrine of Zoroaster — which 
is one of the noblest natural religions, is founded on a be- 
lief in creative and sustaining powers.. Chief among these 
are the sun and his likeness fire. Multitudes of these sun, 
or fire-worshippers may be seen on the seashore at sunrise 
and sunset, devoutly attesting their reverence for the ap- 
proaching or departing god of day. I confess I never 
looked with more sympathetic reverence on the devotions 
of any people than upon these pious sun-worshippers. 

Are not we naturalists, who believe that the light and 
heat of the sun are the primary source of all organic life on 
our earth, really sun-worshippers? 

The religious practices of the Parsees are extremely sim- 
ple, and, like those of the Mussulmans, based chiefly on 
judicious sanitary laws, as, for instance, strict dieatry regu- 
lations and daily ablutions. 

In consequence of these rigid observances the Parsee 
enjoys perfect health, and his active healthy children im- 
press one more favorably than do the pale-faced, languid 
offspring of the European resident. 

One of the most remarkable customs of the Parsees 
is their method of disposing of the dead. On the 
rocky crest of Malabar Hill, from whence the admiring 
beholder looks down on a magnificent panorama of 
city, sea, and bay, the Parsees own a beautiful plot of 
ground which is ornamented with lofty palms and 
flowering plants. In this garden or cemetery stands the 
Dakhma, or "Tower of Silence." The interior of this 
structure is divided into three circular or concentric cham- 
bers, each of which is in turn divided into numerous 






32 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

smaller chambers. The inner circle is for the bodies of 
children, the next for the women, and the outer circle for 
the men. "When a corpse is brought to the cemetery by 
the relatives it is received by attendants clad in white 
robes, and, amid the chanting of priests is placed in one of 
the compartments of the Dakhma. Almost immediately 
the " holy birds of Ormuzd," the sedate vultures perched 
on the Palmyra palms in the cemetery, swoop down into 
the open tower, and in a few minutes devour the flesh of the 
dead body. Swarms of ravens follow and voraciously swal- 
low the remnants of this feast. Later the bleached bones 
are gathered into a receptacle under the tower. To most 
Europeans this is a horrible mode of sepulture; but, as 
collating zoologist, I confess I think the swift destruc- 
tion of a dead body by vigorous birds of prey, or by fire, 
as with the Hindus, more assthetic and poetical than 
the slow, wasting, worm-eating corruption of the grave — 
a method that is just as revolting as that of the Parsees. 
Besides it is in opposition to all sanitary laws, and is often 
the source of dangerous disease. 

Among the pleasantest excursions I made while in .Bom- 
bay was one to the palm-groves of Mahim, in company 
with my host Herr Blaschek. It was a delightful Sunday 
morning — my first in India — and I shall never forget its 
many charming impressions. To fully enjoy the perfect 
freshness of a morning in the tropics one must rise be- 
fore the sun; accordingly the first sunbeams of this cloudless 
and beautiful Sunday found us already riding among the 
gigantic old banyans at the northern foot of Cumbala Hill. 

The native huts in the shelter of these large trees, fre- 
quently entirely hidden among the root-branches, were the 
theatre of those original domestic scenes which so divert the 
European stranger. Whole families in the costume of the 
Garden of Eden squatted along the roadside, and gave ad- 
ditional lustre to their brown skins by copious applications 
of cocoa-oil. At the same time affectionate brothers and 
sisters, or perhaps parents and children, were engaged in 
a vigorous search for the tiny, slowly-creeping insect that 
populates the long black hair of their heads, but being 
devout Hindus, and not permitted to take life, however 
insignificant, the little captives were merely set to one side; 
some of the natives were resorting to more efficacious reme- 



INDIA AND CEYLON 33 

dies — shaving their heads, or bathing in the pools by the 
wayside. Others were indolently stretched under the 
trees, or among the branches. 

Far more interesting were the sights in the palm-groves 
of Mahim, where the "toddy- tapper" climbed nimbly to 
the tops of the tallest palms to collect the sap which had 
accumulated during the night, or dextrously swung him- 
self from tree to tree on the ropes stretched between them. 
Other native laborers were busy with the morning meal. 

As for me, I never wearied watching the lovely effects of 
the sunlight among the quivering foliage and graceful 
stems of the noble cocoas, and on the giant leaves of the 
bananas at their feet. Flowers also bloomed everywhere, 
and these, as well as the butterflies and moths hovering over 
them, were noticeable for their extraordinary size, gorgeous 
hues, and singular form. Here and there waved clumps of 
graceful bamboos of which the huts scattered throughout 
the grove are built and thatched. Along the paths wan- 
dered all kinds of domestic animals, pigs and dogs, chickens 
and ducks; and sporting among them, the charming forms 
of the naked Hindu children with their great black ques- 
tioning eyes! 

After we had rambled through the grove for an hour or 
more we set out for the seashore; but the path we chose 
soon led us to an extensive morass. Fortunately a two- 
wheeled bullock-cart driven by a Hindu lad came up with 
us; we climbed into this elegant conveyance, and after 
nearly sticking fast in the mire once or twice, were safely 
hauled to solid ground. On the shore we saw groups of 
the curious pandanus or screw-pines, whose adventitious 
roots made them appear as if standing on stilts. The 
spiral stem forks at the top like a candelabra, every branch 
bearing a foliated tuft. Immense cobwebs from one to two 
metres across were stretched between the branches. These 
were the property of beautifully marked spiders of enor- *■ 
mous size, their bodies alone measuring six centimetres, 
and their slender legs ten centimetres. To capture one of 
the little monsters was not a very difficult task, and he soon 
found his death in my spirit bottle. The threads of his 
web were astonishingly firm and tenacious, as strong almost 
as linen twine. While we were engaged in the exciting 
spider-chase a flock of green parrots — the first I had seen 



34 INDIA AND CETLON. 

in their native freedom. — flew screaming from the tops of 
the palms. 

A succession of zoological surprises awaited me on the 
sands, which the ebb-tide had left exposed for quite a dis- 
tance. Here I found lovely specimens of the blue medusa 
(Cramtessa) which measured more than a foot in diameter, 
and a globe-fish (Diodon) with a prickly hide and inflated 
abdomen. In the sand were numbers of mussels and snails — : 
all of them characteristic of Indian waters — which I had seen 
only in the zoological collections of different European 
museums. I also found some serpulidans, a variety of 
crustaceans (among them the nimble sand-crab), and 
numerous fish skeletons, mingled with the skulls and 
other parts of the human anatomy. The latter were the 
remains of the low-caste Hindus who had been buried in 
the sand on the shore. These and other zoological treas- 
ures filled my specimen case to overflowing when, at noon, 
we set out on our return to the city. 

Another very interesting part of Bombay is the sacred 
village of Walkeschwan, which is but a short distance from 
the bungalow of my host — between it and the governor's 
house on Malabar Point. I frequently, and at different 
periods of the day, visited this singular precinct, which is 
inhabited only by Hindus of the highest caste, and on every 
visit found something to excite my astonishment and wonder. 
No member of a lower caste is allowed to defile this sacred 
spot by his unclean presence. The centre of attraction in 
Walkeschwan, as in all other sacred communities, is the 
square pool or tank of water which is reached by broad 
flights of steps. It is enclosed on all sides by numerous 
temples and kiosks. The former are ornamented with the 
characteristic white domes — some of which are shaped like 
a mitre, others like a broad, low obelisk. 

The temples, like the huts of the natives, open toward 
the street; in the middle of the single pillared hall lies a 
sacred bull adorned with flowers. Other objects of adora- 
tion — singular stone symbols of the Phallic worship— are 
placed at various points throughout the village and its 
suburbs. These are smeared with red paint, and are 
devoutly worshipped by childless people who paste bits 
of gilt paper on them, and by offerings of flowers hope to 
be blessed with offspring. On the steps of the temples, or 



INDIA AND CEYLON 35 

on those leading to the sacred pool, crouch the holy peni- 
tents engaged in most peculiar devotional exercises. Most 
of these fakirs arc impostors who enjoy their dolcefar niente 
at the expense of a credulous and benevolent community. 
Their naked bodies are smeared with oil and ashes, and 
their long hair, which is never combed, represents a pecu- 
liar kind of plica Polonica — a densely-populated zoological 
territory! 

One merit these fanatics may justly claim: strength to 
endure persistent self-torture. One old fellow has kept his 
fist clenched until the finger-nails have grown- through the 
palm of his hand. Another has held his arm in an up- 
right position until it has lost all feeling and power of mo- 
tion. A third has gashed his face and body, and by con- 
stantly applying ashes to the wounds, has kept them in a 
state of suppuration until he is a revolting sight to behold. 
It is a well-known fact that religious delusions will lead a 
man into all sorts of madness and folly — especially if he be 
under the domination of priestly impostors — but few reli- 
gions require the extreme measures of the Brahma cultus. 

My frequent sketching tours through the sacred village 
enabled me to study the habits of the privileged class of 
idlers frequenting the temples. The principal occupation 
of these noble Brahmanswho, as bona-jide mendicant friars, 
subsist on the charity of the superstitious and generous 
Hindus of the lower castes, seems to be a luxurious inaction 
and forbearance from labor. Only on rare occasions is their 
philosophical indolence interrupted by external religious ex- 
ercises — among which the ablutionary performances at least 
are to be commended. On such occasions the pool is filled 
with bathers of both sexes. I was greatly amused by the 
merry, clothing-disdaining youths that crowded around me 
to comment on the sketches I had made of the bathers. 
They were especially diverted by the caricature I had exe- 
cuted of a howling, wildly-gesticulating fakir. These lads 
were evidently not yet infected with the orthodoxy of their 
parents. The school in Walkeschwan also furnished some 
interesting subjects for my sketch-book. The old gray- 
haired teacher was immensely gratified to learn that I was 
a colleague of his — a piece of information I conveyed to him 
through pantomime. 

In the immediate vicinity of the temple of wisdom I had 



36 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

an opportunity to learn something about the Hindu science 
of physics. A difficult accouchement was performed, with 
the most remarkable instruments, in the public thorough- 
fare, while a constable or policeman maintained order 
among the assembled lookers-on, and graciously explained 
to me the importance of the affair! Near by a second 
Hindu Esculapius by a series of punches and thumps was 
exorcising the devil from the pain-racked form of a rheu- 
matic patient. 

The celebrated cave-temples on the island of Elephanta 
were also visited; but, as they have already been described 
and illustrated in the numerous books of Indian travel, I 
shall confine my observations to a brief confession of disap- 
pointment. They did not come up with my expectations; I 
had imagined them far more magnificent and imposing. 
Actual beauty is out of the question in the grotesque sculp- 
tures and superfluous ornamentation of the Indian tem- 
ples. The disgusting and unnatural combinations of 
human and animal forms, the deities with three heads, 
distorted features, eight arms and legs, etc., are extremely 
repugnant to me. I am one of the few heretics who share 
Goethe's opinions of the i( distorted and crazy temples of 
Elephanta." However, the temples of Elephanta, with their 
sculptured minutiae, remarkable pillared halls and em- 
blems, cut from the living rock, will amply repay the curi- 
ous visitor. We made the excursion from Bombay in a 
small steam launch, from which we had a superb view of 
the harbor and mountains and of the Concan coast, be- 
tween which and Bombay lie the island of Elephanta, and 
the bare red rocks of Trombay Island. I shall always re- 
member Elephanta, for it was there I first looked on the 
wonderful exuberance of the tropical flora in its natural 
state. Of course I had visited the Victoria Botanic G-arden, 
which contains a number of the most beautiful of tropical 
plants, such as palms, bamboos, bananas, pandanus, bread- 
fruit, papaya, lotus, pistachio, etc.; but the pleasure I ex- 
perienced in the Garden is not to be compared with my 
delight when I beheld, on Elephanta, India's most impos- 
ing flora growing with the wanton luxuriance -which is in- 
tolerant of garden restraint. Here lianas of all sorts, and 
climbing ferns clothe the trunks of giant teaks; here the 
noblest cocoa-palms incline their graceful stems toward the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 37 

shore which is fringed with curious pandanus shrubs, and 
fortified to the very water's edge by a wall of mangrove 
roots. Here the parasitic fig, convolvuli, and other creepers 
twine around the black upright stems of the mighty Pal- 
myra palms. Here are magnificent banyans, from whose 
wide-spreading branches depend huge air-roots, which in 
time take root in the ground, and become supports to the 
mother crown. And there — see! there is a powerful mur- 
derer (a parasitic vine) strangling a noble palm in his 
deadly embrace, and a little farther on the fellow's brother 
clasps the dead trunk of his victim in his leafless and with- 
ered arms — the tree died first, then the same fate overtook 
his murderer. 

Among all these the slender bamboo holds aloft his huge 
bouquet; bananas and plantains expand their broad green 
plumes; deliciously -fragrant blossoms unfold their chalices; 
the feathery acacia unfolds its delicate canopy; prickly eu- 
phorbias interweave their stems into dense hedges. Thus, 
on Elephanta, the tropical vegetation of which I had read 
and dreamed for thirty years became at last a palpable 
reality. 

Among all these vegetable beauties thousands of gor~ 
geous insects hung in the sun-warmed air; huge brilliant 
,buprestidans hummed through the thickets; hundreds of 
agile lizards and snakes darted among the undergrowth, 
flocks of gay-plumaged birds flew screaming harshly from 
branch to branch — all new, never before seen alive or out 
of a museum! 

And yet they were all old acquaintances. Like a happy 
child I darted after the enchanting creatures, laid hold of 
the trees and plants to convince myself that I was not dream- 
ing of fairy-land. 

My brief stay in Bombay admitted of but one extended 
tour to the mainland — an excursion to Lanaulie and the 
Karli cave-temples. In company with a fellow-traveler on 
the Helios — Count Hunyady — I left Bombay at noon on 
the 11th of November. Delightful weather favored us; at 
times, however, the sun became a trifle too ardent — the mer- 
cury registering in the shade at noon 30° E. The nights 
were proportionately warm, the thermometer once at mid- 
night marking 25°. The railway journey to Lanaulie is 
one of five hours' duration, and ours drew from us, besides 



38 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

copious perspiration, many a sigh over* the torrid atmos- 
phere. And yet the first-class coach in which we traveled 
had all the modern appliances for comfort: the double roof 
projected on either side; there were blinds and green glass 
for the windows; cool leather-cushioned seats; ingenious 
devices for ventilation, and best of all, small compartments 
in which one might refresh one's self with a bath in cool 
water. Each of the first-class coaches contains two saloons 
which accommodate but six passengers. The seats or sofas 
— of which there are three, two lengthwise and one across — 
are transformed into comfortable beds at night; three addi- 
tional beds are put up four feet above the lower ones, thus 
forming six couches which are larger and much more com- 
fortable than the berths in the cabin of a ship. 

The traveler's portmanteau is disposed of by the porter; 
he may promenade at will through the little saloon and 
enjoy a view of the fleeting landscape from the numerous 
windows. The prospect was of exceeding interest to me, 
and I was happily able to secure a number of satisfactory 
sketches of the country we traversed during the five hours' 
ride. The railway which traverses a large section of 
Bombay, passes Byculla, Parell, and Sassoon, then crosses a 
bridge over the narrow arm of the sea between Bombay 
and Salsette Islands, then another bridge to the mainland 
of Hither India. Our route for several hours was over the 
flat lowland of Concan; numerous villages of wretched bam- 
boo huts and several larger but unimportant towns gave 
us an idea of the Mahratta population of this region. 

During the rainy season (from June to September) the 
extensive plains of the coast are covered with a luxuriant 
growth of tall grass, and, in some places, are cultivated 
with rice, corn, etc. "When we crossed them the vegetation 
was withered, and the broad grassy stretches sere and yel- 
low. The evergreen plants alone retained their fresh tint, 
the banana and fig trees, and that important treasure of 
the Concan flora, the stately Palmyra palm (Borassusfia- 
lelliformis). Thousands or rather millions of this noble 
oree are everywhere visible — now in groups, now alone — 
giving the lowland its characteristic physiognomy. Like 
the cocoa and date-palms, the Palmyra palm is one of the 
most useful plants — almost every part of it is used for one or 
more domestic or technical purposes. Especially attractive 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 39 

were the groves of this tree on the banks of the reed-fringed 
ponds past which we steamed. These miniature lakes, to- 
gether with the naked brown forms of the natives, the two- 
wheeled bullock-carts, the wallowing buffaloes, and the little 
square reed huts, formed a lovely picture, beyond which 
towered the jagged crest of the Bhor-Ghaut. 

At Kurjut, at the foot of the mountain, the light loco- 
motive which had brought us from Bombay was exchanged 
for one adapted to the heavier grade (1.37) before us, and 
soon the ascent became clearly perceptible — rising over 
2000 feet in a few hours. Numerous turrets and viaducts, 
as well as the sudden turns of the road, remind one of the 
picturesque roads in the Alps — the Semmering and the 
Brenner. (The steepest grade on the latter is only 1.40.) 

The landscape assumes an entirely different character; 
the palms which abundantly adorn the lowland country 
disappear, and in their room appear mighty, umbrageous 
•forest trees, the stately tobacco plant, and the wool-tree 
with its immense leaves. 

The escarpment of the tabular highland, which in some 
places presents a succession of steps or terraces, is here and 
there cloven by deep gorges; these are clothed with dense 
masses of shrubbery which give the mountain a European 
character, although the peculiar configuration of the Bhor- 
Ghaut is very little like any range in Europe. Now ihese 
stupendous rock-masses rise to a perpendicular wall of 
more than a thousand feet; now they present a succession 
of broad, truncated pyramids; now a mural front whose 
battlements and turrets at a distance appear like a mighty 
fortress. Although the plutonic masses which form the 
Bhor-Ghaut. (they are principally black trap and basaltic 
syenite) are totally different from the stratified sandstone of 
our Swiss mountains, yet, in its exterior configuration, this 
isolated table-land in some places is strikingly similar to 
them. 

As sudden as the transformation in the landscape, from a 
scene of tropical splendor in the 19th degree of latitude 
to one of more austere character in the 53d degree, is the 
change of the air we breathe. A breezy coolness succeeds 
the oppressive heat of the lowlands, and it is with unspeak- 
able delight that we inhale the invigorating mountain air. 
One only fully appreciates the benefits of a temperate cli- 



40 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

mate when under the enervating influence of the tropical 
sun. 

The higher we ascend the more like home it seems; but 
this allusion is rudely dispelled by the information that, 
two years ago, in the ravine below us, an English officer 
was killed by a tiger. Two streams of water here fall from 
a considerable height, and in the rainy season form copious 
waterfalls; but at present they are mere threads of mois- 
ture, and sparse yellow grass covers the spaces which are 
not overgrown with jungle. 

Shortly before reaching Lanaulie we passed Matheron Sta- 
tion, which is a favorite summer resort for the wealthier 
residents of Bombay. Beautiful views of the surrounding 
country may be had from various elevations in the neigh- 
borhood. A singular rock formation near Matheron is 
called the "Duke's Nose" — in honor, I believe, of the Duke 
of Wellington! 

It was quite dark when at seven o'clock we arrived at 
Lanaulie — 2100 feet above the sea — and found really toler- 
able quarters in the diminutive "hotel" kept by a Parsee. 
Before retiring for the night we made arrangements for an 
excursion the next morning to the Karli caves, Buddhist 
rock-temples which, in extent and wealth of sculptures, sur- 
pass all others of a like character in India. We engaged 
ponies for a five-o'clock start; but when we made our ap- 
pearance at the appointed hour we found that a stately 
coach, drawn by two horses, had been substituted by the 
cunning landlord for the little mountain ponies we had 
hired. Although dissatisfied with this arrangement, which 
was a more profitable one for the landlord, we took our 
places in the coach, which conveyed us about half a mile 
over a good road; then we were obliged to continue the 
journey on foot for more than a mile through fields and 
meadows, and at last up an almost precipitous hill. 

The caves are situated half way up the western declivity 
of a trachyte hill that rises more than a thousand feet 
above the plateau of Lanaulie. The Karli cave-temples 
are much older and larger than the Brahman cave-temples 
of Elephanta; the sculptures are less complex and gro- 
tesque; the representations of human and animal forms 
more natural; they are, on the whole, the most perfect 
structures of the kind in existence. 



INDIA -4A7n ceXLUJS. 41 

Like the temples of Elephanta, and many others of a 
oimihir character in India, those of Karli, as well as the 
forms of man and beast profusely ornamenting the walls, 
are excavated and cut from .lie solid rock. The lofty in- 
terior of the Tschaitya temple, a gigantic vault resembling 
the interior of a hollow cylinder, is divided by two rows of 
'columns, with a broad central nave and two narrow side 
aisles. The numerous male and female statues, elephants, 
lions, etc., as well as the pillars and door-posts, are very 
ingeniously carved from the hard black trap-rock, and 
smoothly polished. Above, and on either side of this 
temple, are a number of smaller excavations, from which, 
at our approach, flew swarms of bats. Several priests who 
pass their lives in these solitudes solicited alms from us, and 
while they mumbled prayers of 'gratitude for the gifts be- 
stowed, harsh cries sounded from the rocks above us. On 
looking up we beheld a number of large black apes, which 
were the first I had seen in their untamed state, and 
which, on comparison with the dirty, naked, begging 
monks, seemed quite respectable as ancestors. 



III. 

Colombo. 

On" the 21st of November, amid the glorious effulgence 
of a cloudless tropical morning, I set foot on that ever-ver- 
dant wonder-island on which I was to spend four of the 
most enjoyable and edifying months of my life. The 
Helios, which had brought us in five days of uninterrupt- 
edly fair weather over a sea as smooth as glass, from Bom- 
bay to Ceylon, sighted the island at midnight on the 20th, 
and the first gray dawn was just breaking when I went on 
deck to behold, as soon as possible, the " promised land" 
of my scientific longings. 

Before us in the east, above the dim mirror of the Indian 
Ocean, lay a slender, misty bank that, when the brief morn- 
ing twilight of the tropics gave place to the swiftly ap- 
proaching day, revealed itself as the cocoa-fringed west 
coast of Ceylon. The conical peak towering conspicuously 
above the mountain chain of the central highlands was 



42 ijtjjia ^NT) C1EYL0N. 

Adam's Peak — world-famed for the superstitious myths 
and legends which envelop it. When the brilliant sun ap ' 
peared above the mountains we were able to distinguish 
a second and lower range of hills between the highlands 
of the interior .and the coast. Soon the snowy-stemmed 
cocoa-palms became clearly discernible, and on approaching 
nearer, the salient features of Ceylon's chief city, Colombo, 
also stood revealed. 

Directly in front of us lay the fort and the harbor, on 
the right (to the south) the suburb of Colpetty, on the left 
(north) the pettah, or " Black Town." 

To me the cloudless sky and fresh, aromatic breeze which 
favored my first view of the long-dreamed-of island were 
signs of good luck. Usually in the morning the mountains 
are either wholly or partially obscured by heavy mists. The 
first boat to approach our vessel was that of the pilot who 
took us into the harbor, where we were soon surrounded by 
boats of a shape peculiar to the South Asiatic islands. 
These are hollow logs of perhaps twenty feet in length, 
three feet in depth and scarcely one and a half feet in 
width — so narrow that a grown person cannot sit in them 
without placing one foot behind the other. At the extrem- 
ity of two elastic outriggers, which extend from one side 
of the boat, is a balance-log that gives an astonishing degree 
of security to the frail craft. As I had occasion later to 
use these singular canoes for my zoological excursions, I 
had an opportunity to test their advantages as well as to 
experience their disadvantages. At first sight of their 
picturesque form, however, only my artistic perceptions 
were aroused; perhaps too I was influenced by their Singha- 
lese crews — in their way quite as rare and peculiar as the 
boats themselves. 

The natives crowded the decks of the Helios and offered 
for sale fruits, fish, and other products of their country, as 
well as trifling articles of their industry. Most of them 
wore only the "comboy" or "sarong," a piece of red cotton 
cloth that hung, apron-fashion, from a belt at the waist. 
They wear their long black hair in a knot fastened at the 
back of the head with a tortoise-shell comb, a style of coif- 
fure that increases the effeminate appearance of their 
slender figures, small feet and hands, and delicate features. 
The nude black Tamils, whose coal-boats surrounded the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 43 

Helios ■, are a sturdier race of people than the Singhalese; 
there is also a marked difference between these two races 
and the moormen, stateJj fellows in long white caftans, 
trunk-hose, and yellow turbans, who deal in precious stones, 
shells, and silver ornaments. The prices demanded for 
these articles are usually three or four, sometimes ten times 
their actual value; one of our passengers paid one rupee for 
a brilliant stone that had been offered but a few moments 
before for eighty rupees! This "precious stone/' like 
most of the '•'gems" of the "Kuby Island," was nothing 
but the product of some ingenious European manufacturer 
of ground glass. Gems of this sort are imported from 
Europe in large quantities every year. 

My reception from Herr Stipperger, the agent of the 
Austrian Lloyd in Colombo, to whom I had letters of in- 
troduction from that company, as well as<from mutual 
friends in Triest and Bombay, was most cordial. Without 
further ceremony he invited me to become his guest while 
I remained in Colombo, and did everything in his power 
to render my stay both pleasant and profitable. If, during 
my four months' sojourn in Ceylon I saw and enjoyed, 
learned and accomplished, more than many other travelers 
could have done in a whole year, then I owe it all to the 
generous kindness of my "Singhalese Providenza," as I 
jestingly dubbed my friend Stipperger. This gentleman, 
who is a native of Vienna, and only a few years my senior, 
was formerly in the Austrian navy, from which he entered 
the service of the Austrian Lloyd Company. I can only 
wish that his present position may amply recompense his 
manifold and distinguished abilities. After cordially bid- 
ding adieu to the officers and passengers on the Helios, 
who were going to Singapore and Hong Kong, I quitted 
the gallant ship which had brought me so safely and pleas- 
antly from Triest, and accompanied Herr Stipperger in a 
boat to the land. Through the kind intervention of the 
latter gentleman, and with the aid of the official documents 
from the government in England to the governor of Cey- 
lon, my numerous luggage passed toll-free through the 
customs, and was spared the usual official examination — a 
formidable task indeed with my sixteen trunks and boxes! 

From the quay we drove to the office of the Austrian 
Lloyd, and from there to breakfast in a club-house. Then 



44 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

I devoted the first hours after my arrival to making several 
necessary visits, and delivered the several important letters 
of introduction which the German consul at Colombo, Herr 
Ereudenberg (at present in Germany) had been kind enough 
to give me. 

In this manner I spent the morning and part of the after- 
noon of my first day in Ceylon. By five o'clock I was ready 
to accompany Herr Stipperger in his light two- wheeled 
calash, drawn by a fleet Australian stallion, to his residence 
"Whist Bungalow," which is a considerable distance (three 
English miles) from the business centre, or "fort," of the 
city. Colombo, like Bombay and most of the more im- 
portant East Indian towns, consists of a European business 
quarter in the "fort," and several suburbs which contain 
the habitations of the native population. 

The fort at Colombo was built in 1517 by the Portuguese, 
who were the first European sovereigns on the island. They 
landed in 1505 and remained perhaps 150 years — about as 
long as their Dutch successors who drove them from the 
island. Under the rule of the Dutch, as well as under the 
English, who took possession of Ceylon in 1796, Colombo 
maintained its importance as chief city, notwithstanding 
many other places, especially Point de Galle, were in many 
respects better calculated for the first place. In late years 
the British Government has strenuously sought to establish 
Colombo's precedence as a first-class seaport; consequently 
it will doubtless continue to occupy its prominent position, 
all its unfavorable conditions to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing.- 

One would naturally suppose that the chief requirement 
of a first-class seaport would be a good harbor. This 
Colombo has not got, while Point de Galle has all the ad- 
vantages of an extensive and natural roadstead. True, 
nowadays harbors may be constructed anywhere along 
a coast by dredging, and by the erection of substantial 
piers, or breakwaters, as at Port Said, all that is necessary 
thereto being money. 

The English Government constructed a breakwater at the 
southern extremity of the Colombo harbor, but strong 
doubts are entertained as to whether this piece of masonry 
will answer the purpose for which it was built without 
frequent repairs at an enormous outlay of money and labor. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 45 

On the other hand, the natural harbor of Point de Galle 
might be improved at a much less expense; the few rocks 
and coral reefs which hinder the passage of large ships 
might, by the use of dynamite, be easily removed. The 
contest for supremacy between these two seaports on the 
west coast of Ceylon, has resulted in the victory of the 
ancient capital over her rival, although the latter, by 
virtue of her climate, situation, and environs, is more de- 
serving of the prize. The climate of Colombo is excessively 
hot and enervating — it is one of the hottest in the world! — 
while the charming, verdure-clad hills around Point de 
Galle render it an agreeable and healthful place of residence. 

The country around Colombo is flat, and chiefly covered 
by swamps and stagnant pools. The fort stands on a low 
headland, of inconsiderable extent, that serves as a land- 
mark of the level west coast of the island. Mention is 
made of this headland in Ptolemy's ancient geography, on 
whose excellent map of Ceylon — " Salike" — it is called 
Jupiter's Cape, Jovis Extremum. 

The walls of the fort, which were strongly fortified by 
the Dutch, are still surmounted by cannon, and almost 
surrounded by water; two thirds of their circumference are 
washed by the sea, and the remaining third (the south-east 
side) by the waters of a broad lagoon. Several bridges cross 
the latter and connect the fort with the mainland. The 
few short and narrow streets, which cross each other at 
right angles, are occupied principally by the offices and 
warehouses of the European merchants, a number of pub- 
lic and government buildings. Among the latter is the 
" Queen's House," the handsome palace of the governor, 
wirich, standing in the midst of the most exuberant tropical 
vegetation, with roomy pillared halls, large airy saloons, 
and stately staircase, is the most imposing of the public 
buildings. 

I paid a visit to this stately palace the day after my ar- 
rival, and delivered the letters 'from the English Government 
to the governor. The interior arrangements are very taste- 
ful and in keeping with the splendor of the British auto- 
crat who rules the island. Numbers of Indian servants 
in showy livery perform the domestic service of the Queen's 
House, wiiile red and gold uniformed English soldiers stand 
guard. Chatham Street, in which the office of the Austrian 



46 INDIA AND (JEYLON. 

Lloyd Company is located, is, like many other streets in 
Colombo and Point de Galle, embellished with rows of hibis- 
cus trees, whose large crimson or yellow flowers cover the 
ground in countless numbers. The shops in which I was 
most interested are also in the same street, bazaars in which 
you may purchase photographic views of scenery and living 
animals. The very first hour in Ceylon I had the pleasure 
of examining some views of the loveliest points in the sav- 
age mountain region and along the picturesque coast, as 
well as a sight of the astonishing wonders of vegetation: 
palms, pandanus, lianas, tree-ferns, banyans, etc. No less 
interesting was it for me in that first hour on the wonder- 
island to make the acquaintance of some of its most attrac- 
tive fauna, such as apes, axis, or spotted deer, parrots, 
doves, etc. 

On the south side of the fort are the quarters of the Eng- 
lish soldiery, large airy barracks which extend to the banks 
of the lagoon. Adjoining these is the military hospital, 
and beyond it the esplanade, called here the " Galle-face," 
because the high road to Point de Galle begins at this 
point. Afternoons, between the hours of five and six, the 
esplanade becomes a favorite place of assembly for the 
wealth and fashion of Colombo. 

Here, as in Hyde Park, London, fair ladies and gallant 
gentlemen meet to recruit from the enervating heat of 
midday, and to enjoy the sunsets which are always embel- 
lished by the most marvellous cloud-pictures. The distin- 
guished young gentlemen of Colombo are mounted on 
horseback (some of the horses are sorry-looking hacks); 
while the fair ladies, with bouquets of flowers, and in ele- 
gant tropical toilettes, recline gracefully in their comfort- 
able carriages. 

As soon as the sun has disappeared everybody hurries 
home — partly in dread of the fever-laden evening air, and 
partly because important preparations are to be made for 
the principal event of the day — dinner, a meal that is here 
attended with as much ceremony as in "Old England." 
My first visit to the esplanade was during the hot hour of 
noon, when I had an opportunity to test the full power of 
the torrid rays which Helios sheds on such unsheltered 
tracts. The outlines of objects around me quivered in the 
heated air-, and on the red sand road, between the grass 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 47 

bordering it on either side, I saw a fata morgana — a phe- 
nomenon that frequently occurs here. The rffcrage reflected 
a sheet of sparkling water that was forded by the wagons 
and pedestrians coming toward me. The thermometer 
hanging in the cool rooms of the club-house registered 24 
E. Outside in the sun it would probably have risen to 36° 
or 40°. 

Adjoining the esplanade is the suburb of Kolupitya, or 
Colpetty, which extends towards the south, between the flat, 
sandy shore and the road, to Galle. On both sides of the 
road are numbers of elegant villas surrounded by flourish- 
ing gardens. This villa-quarter extends in a westerly di- 
rection to the so called " Cinnamon Gardens" — a locality 
that, since the English Government was forced to abandon 
its cinnamon monopoly, has lost its original importance, 
and has become the private property of wealthy merchants. 
"Cinnamon Gardens," with the handsome and costly resi- 
dences scattered among the trees, is now considered the 
most aristocratic villa-quarter in Colombo. But its dis- 
tance from the seashore and the refreshing sea-breeze, as 
well as its low situation and proximity to the arm of the 
lagoon, are great disadvantages. The sultry heat here at- 
tains its highest altitude, swarms of mosquitoes render the 
evenings extremely unpleasant, while innumerable frogs of 
all sorts disturb one's rest by their loud nightly concerts. 
The same may be said of the adjacent "Slave Island," so 
called because the Dutch — in the preceding century — at 
night penned the government slaves here. 

And yet, notwithstanding all these disadvantages, this is 
the most beautiful part of Colombo. The coves denting 
the shores of the lagoon are encircled by cultivated gardens, 
above which slender cocoa-palms incline their feathered 
crests; elegant European villas and picturesque native 
huts adorn the banks, while a noble background is formed 
by the distant mountains of the central highlands, above 
which towers the proud head of the ever-conspicuous 
Adam's Peak. 

An evening canoe ride on the peaceful bosom of the la- 
goon is one of Colombo's greatest pleasures. North of the 
above-mentioned suburbs stretches the densely-populated 
pettah, or "Black Town." It extends for more than a 
mile along the ocean front to the mouth of the Kalany- 



48 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

ganga, from which stream the city took its original name 
of Kalan-totta, or Kalan-bua. 

Ibn Batula in 1340 called it Kalambu, and described it 
as the "largest and finest city of Serendib" — the ancient 
Arabian name of the island. Kalambu, under the Portu- 
guese, became Colombo. 

Near the wide delta of the stately Kalany, not far from 
the shore of the Indian Ocean, stands the house of my 
friend Stipperger, with whom I spent .my first pleasant 
weeks in Ceylon. This section of Colombo, Which bears the 
rather singular name of Mutwal, or Modera, is, to my 
thinking, one of the most interesting in the whole region. 
I shall never forget the strange medley which, like the 
shifting scenes of a latema magica, passed before my as- 
tonished gaze as I drove from the fort to Whist Bungalow. 
In the open huts, under the shadow of the omnipresent 
cocoa- palm — everywhere in the narrow streets of the pett ah, 
one might see how this heterogeneous population lived, 
moved, and had its being. Here, as in all localities of the 
Torrid Zone, the domestic economy of the natives is char- 
acterized by little or no privacy, for as the heat of the 
tropical sun renders covering for the human form unneces- 
sary, so, too, the interiors of the huts and bazaars are 
exposed to the public gaze — neither windows nor doors 
preventing the outsider from seeing everything that trans- 
pires within. 

Instead of doors and windows there is a single large 
opening in the front of the hut or bazaar, that at night, or 
during inclement weather is closed by a curtain of matting, 
or a sliding wooden lattice. The artisan may be seen at 
work in his shop, sometimes in the public thoroughfare, 
while the most intimate scenes of domestic and family life 
are not withdrawn from the curious gaze of the public. 
'The peculiar charm of these Indian homes lies partly in 
this naive publicity of domestic affairs, partly in the primi- 
tive simplicity of their requirements — the few household 
articles attesting this fact — and partly in their harmony 
with surrounding nature. The little gardens which en- 
circle every hut are so unartincial in their arrangement, 
the few useful plants which represent the natives' principal 
possession are grouped so picturesquely around the tiny 
dwellings, that everything seems to have sprang sponta- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 49 

n^ously from the fruitful soil. The most important of these 
ustfu Implants is the "prince of the vegetable kingdom" — 
the palm — the cocoa-palm in particular. Every part of 
this tree, which frequently constitutes the sole wealth of 
the Singhalese, is used for some purpose; accordingly it is 
seen growing everywhere, in the cities and villages as well 
as in remote districts. It is the tree which first attracts 
the eye of the new-comer, and gives character to the land- 
scape. The number of cocoa-palms on the island is about 
forty millions, and each tree yields from eighty to one hun- 
dred nuts (8-10 quarts of oil). The cocoa-palm is not 
found in the northern half of the island, nor in some parts 
of the east coast. In these regions its place is supplied by 
the not less useful Palmyra palm — the same species that 
covers the arid regions of Hither India, and that grows in 
such profusion near Bombay. Even at a distance these 
two palms are very dissimilar. The Palmyra belongs to 
the fan-palm family, and has a vigorous, perfectly upright 
black stem that is crowned by a thick tuft of stiff, fan- 
shaped leaves. The cocoa is a feather-palm; its slender 
white stem, from sixty to eighty feet high, is gracefully 
curved, and adorned with a ponderous crown of immense 
pinnate leaves. The foliage of the elegant Areca palm 
(Areca catechu) is similar, but smaller and less flexible; it 
has a thin, reed-like, upright stem, is always to be found 
near the huts of the Singhalese, and bears the favorite nut 
which, when chewed with the leaves of the betel-pepper, 
stains the teeth and saliva a red color. Another palm, the 
kitool (Caryota tirens), is cultivated chiefly for its abun- 
dant saccharine sap, from which are prepared palm-sugar 
(jaggery) and palm-wine (toddy). Its powerful and vigor- 
ous stem supports a crown of double feathery leaves which 
resemble those of the maidenhair fern (Adianium capUlus 
veneris). The bread-fruit and mango trees in the little 
gardens, rank next in importance to the palms. Of the 
former there are two kinds: the true bread-fruit (Artocar- 
pus incisa) and the jack-tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), 
magnificent specimens of which are to be found every- 
where, and among them frequently the singular cotton 
tree (Bombax). Mingled with these may also be found the 
beautiful banana or pisang plant, which certainly deserves 
its name of "fig of Paradise." Its golden fruit, eaten raw 



50 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

or cooked, is very nutritious and wholesome. Its huge 
pale-green plumes drooping from a stem twenty or thirty 
feet high are the loveliest decorations of the Singhalese 
huts. Scarcely less effective for ornamental purposes is 
the barbed foliage of the Caladium — which is cultivated for 
its esculent root — and the palmate leaves of the pretty 
manihot shrub — a member of the Euphorbiaceae family. 
The exquisite green of these plants contrasts finely with the 
brown clay huts and the warm red tint of the soil (the re- 
sult probably of an excess of oxide of iron). In perfect 
accord with these tints is the cinnamon hue of the Singha- 
lese complexion, and the deep black skins of the Tamils. 
In Colombo, as well as on the south and west coasts of 
Ceylon, the Singhalese constitute the majority of the popu- 
lation. The name Singhalese is given to the descendants 
of the Indian Hindus who, according to the Pali chronicle, 
the Mahaivanso, in the year 543 B.C., under Wijayo, in- 
vaded Ceylon and subdued the aboriginal inhabitants of 
the island. Of the latter race, the Veddahs — a tribe of 
outcasts inhabiting the interior — are believed to be the de- 
scendants. 

The Singhalese were in turn driven from the northern 
half of the island, as well as from the east coast and a 
large portion of the central highlands, by the Malabars, or 
Tamils, who came from Southern Hindustan, from the 
Malabar coast. In stature, physiognomy, complexion, lan- 
guage, religion, and customs, the Tamils are very different 
from the Singhalese. They belong to another branch of 
the Aryan genealogical tree. The Singhalese dialect seems 
to have sprung from the Pali language, while the Malabars 
speak the entirely dissimilar Tamil language. The religion 
of the former is Buddhism; that of the latter Hinduism, or 
Brahmanism. The Singhalese are devoted principally to 
agriculture, the cultivation of palms, bananas, and other 
useful plants; but are, nevertheless, very shy of hard work. 
This is usually accomplished by the Malabars, who, in the 
lowlands, work on the roads, are builders, carriers, coach- 
men, etc., and in the highlands find employment on the 
coffee plantations. At the present time the Malabars 
(large numbers of whom yearly immigrate from the Indian 
peninsula) constitute, perhaps, one third of Ceylon's in- 
habitants, while the Singhalese number three fifths of the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 51 

whole population, which is about two and a half mil- 
lions. 

Next to the Singhalese and Malabars the Indo- Arabians 
or moormen, form — according to number and influence — 
the most important part of the native population of Cey- 
lon. They number perhaps JL50, 000, or one tenth the 
number of Singhalese. They" are descended from those 
Arabs who, more than 2000 years ago, gained a firm foot- 
hold in Ceylon, as well as in other parts of Southern and 
South-eastern Asia, and who, between the eighth and 
tenth centuries (until the arrival of the Portuguese) con- 
ducted the principal commercial interests of the island. 
The entire retail as well as a great part of the wholesale 
trade of Ceylon is still in the hands of these active and en- 
terprising sons of the desert, who, by their speculative 
wisdom, craft, and pre-eminent skill for money-making, 
here play a similar role to that of the Jews in Europe. In 
many other respects they are like their remote kinsmen in 
Europe, who have no representatives in Ceylon. 

The language spoken and written by the moormen is a 
mixture of Arabian and Tamil. They are chiefly Moham- 
medans and Sunnites. Their complexion is a brownish- 
yellow, their physiognomy unmistakably Semitic. Hair 
and beard are generally long and black. Their powerful 
frames, which are clad in long white burnous and wide 
white trousers, appear all the more stately among the 
Tamils and Singhalese, because of the tall yellow turbaua 
— shaped like a bishop's mitre— they wear on their heads. 

In addition to these three predominant races, the pr pul- 
iation of Ceylon is made up of aboriginal tribes, the Ved- 
dahs and Kodiyas (of whom there are perhaps 2000), Ma- 
lays and Javanese (who are principally enlisted as solcners), 
Parsees and Afghans (mostly money-changers and usurers), 
Negroes and Caff res (soldiers and servants). The ofi spring 
of these different native races by intermarriage with Euro- 
peans, exhibit the most diverse characteristics, ai*-<l offer 
interesting difficulties to anthropological classification. 
To these belong the "Burghers," the descendants of the 
Portuguese and the Dutch, in whose veins runs more or 
less Singhalese or Tamil blood. This class furnishes the 
clerks and accountants in the offices and warehouses, the 
subordinate officers of the government, in which positions 



52 INDIA AND CEYLON 

they are highly esteemed. Lastly, the number of Euro- 
peans — the " foreign" rulers of the island — is only about 
three or four thousand, and these are chiefly English and 
Scotch. In the cities they occupy all the higher govern- 
ment offices, and own all the larger commercial houses. 
In the mountain districts they form the numerous and re- 
markable class of " planters" with whose peculiar mode of 
life I became familiar during my travels through the high- 
lands. 

According to the census of 1857 (twenty-five years ago), 
the total number of inhabitants in Ceylon then was only 
1,760,000. In 1871 (eleven years ago), it had increased to 
2,405,000, and at the present time there are over 2,500,000 
souls on the island. 

If we assume that the number of inhabitants amounts to 
the round sum of two and a half millions, then the con- 
stituent parts may be divided as follows: 



(principally Buddhists) 1,500,000 

Tamils or Malabars (mostly Hindus) 820,000 

Indo- Arabians or moormen (chiefly Mohammedans). . . 150.000 

Mixed 10, 000 

Malays, Chinese, Caffres, and Negroes 8,000 

Burghers (half-breed) 6,000 

Europeans (chiefly English) 4.000 

Yeddahs (aborigines) 2,000 

Total 2,500,000 

As the superficial area of Ceylon is 1250 geographical 
square miles, scarcely one sixth less than that of Ireland, 
it might very easily accommodate six or eight times its 
present population. According to the ancient chronicles, 
Ceylon, 2000 years ago, contained many more inhabi- 
tants — perhaps more than twice its present number! The 
depopulated and, to some extent, desolate northern half 
of the island was in those days densely populated; and 
where now impassable jungles afford secure retreats for 
apes and bears, parrots and doves, flourished extensive 
fields, rendered productive by a system of irrigation that 
is worthy all admiration. The remains of these irrigation 
tanks, as well as the noble ruins of the vanished cities, 
Anarajapoora, Sigiri, Pollanarua, etc, to this day bear wit- 
ness of their former magnificence. They show what might 



INDIA AND CEYLON 53 

again be accomplished on this " jewel- island," this "no- 
blest pearl in the diadem of India." 



IV. 

Whist Bungalow. 



This charming villa stands, as I mentioned before, at 
the northern extremity of Colombo, or rather Mutwal, 
near where the Kalany Eiver debouches on the sea. It is a 
good hour's distance from the business centre of the city; 
and its isolated situation in the midst of natural beauties, 
its distance from the noise and tumult of the fort, as well 
as from the favorite villa-quarters, Colpetty and Cinnamon 
Gardens, made it peculiarly attractive in my eyes. . 

Another weighty reason, perhaps, for my partiality 
towards Whist Bungalow was the hospitable treatment I re- 
ceived from its several occupants. Besides Herr Stipperger, 
there were three other very agreeable countrymen of mine. 

The "few days" I at first proposed to remain with Herr 
Stipperger soon extended to a "few weeks," and as I 
made another visit of several days to the bungalow on my 
return from the south, one month of the four passed on 
the island was pleasantly spent in this delightful spot. 

Whist Bungalow owes its peculiar name to the fact that 
the first proprietor of the secluded villa, an old English 
officer, at the beginning of the present century, was wont, 
on Sundays, to invite his comrades to a whist-party. As 
the rigid observances of the English Church would have 
condemned these merry card -parties as a profanation of 
the Sabbath they were kept a profound secret; and the 
more the assembled warriors rejoiced at being able thus to 
escape the tedium of the English Sunday and an orthodox 
society, the more boisterous became the whist-parties — and 
their consequent drinking-bouts — in the solitary bunga- 
low. 

At that time Whist Bungalow was a simple little cottage 
hidden in the dense shrubbery of the garden. Its present 
stately proportions were assumed under the proprietorship 
of a Mr. Morgan, an advocate, who was a gay man of the 
world, and who expended a large part of his fortune in en- 



54 INDIA AND CEYLON 

larging and embellishing the villa — a little Miramare of 
Ceylon — and making it worthy of its romantically beauti- 
ful situation. The choicest ornamental trees and shrubs 
were planted in the garden. A stately colonnade, with 
airy veranda, encircled the enlarged mansion, while its 
lofty saloons were furnished with princely magnificence. 
Eor many a year Whist Bungalow was the scene of gay 
parties and feasts which were far more luxurious and costly, 
if not so boisterous and merry, than the less ostentatious 
revels of the whist-players. It seems, however, that Mr. 
Morgan's large income was not sufficient for the colossal 
expenditures of his Lucullan mode of life; he died unex- 
pectedly, when it was found that a considerable deficit ex- 
isted in his cash account. The numerous creditors seized 
Whist Bungalow, and were glad at last to sell it at public 
auction in order to realize at least a portion of the money 
they had loaned Mr. Morgan. 

And now came a turning-point in the history of the 
princely mansion, whose new proprietor was not long al- 
lowed to rejoice in his bargain. Rumor, who had already 
whispered many strange tales concerning the romantic 
bungalow, now asserted audibly that it was "haunted " by 
the spirit of the suddenly deceased Mr. Morgan. Every 
night — moonlight or not — the ghost was said to appear, 
attended by hideous noises; white forms meandered through 
the saloons; winged demons fluttered in the pillared halls; 
and equally unearthly creatures with flaming eyes peram- 
bulated the roof. The director-general of this ghostly 
crew was, of course, the spirit of Mr. Morgan, of whom it 
was now said that his suddenly evaporated wealth had not 
been obtained by strictly honorable means; that he, like 
some others of his calling, had employed his extensive 
legal knowledge less in the interest of his clients than to 
find means for transferring the contents of their treasure- 
chests into his own. He was" also said to have embezzled 
large sums; to have defrauded widows and orphans, etc. 
etc.; for all. of which the divagations of his spirit among 
the scenes of his former Bacchanalia was the punish- 
ment. 

So many natives in the near neighborhood of Mutwal 
had heard the ghostly clatter — some had even seen the ter- 
rible demons — that the new proprietor of Whist Bungalow 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 55 

would "ob U\e m it himself, nor could he find a tenant 
for it. 

Thus Whist Bungalow stood deserted and empty when 
my friend Stipperger heard of it, and, on seeing the charm- 
ing place, decided to rent it. But this had also its diffi- 
culties. No servant willing to live in the haunted house 
was to be found. This was accomplished only after sub- 
stantial proofs of the ghost's zoological origin had been 
established. The first night Herr Stipperger spent in his 
new home he armed himself to the teeth, and awaited the 
appearance of the spirits, who proved to be, as he had con- 
jectured, corporeal mammals of flesh and blood with whom 
the defunct Mr. Morgan was not in the least analogous. 
The mysterious noises, when silenced by a load of shot, 
proved to be a congress of wild-cats; the ghosts of the 
saloons and pillared halls manifested themselves as huge 
bandicoot rats and flying foxes (Pteropits). The evidence 
furnished by this night's chase was so overwhelming that 
the fears of the most timid servant were vanquished, and 
my friend took peaceable possession of the isolated Whist 
Bungalow. Order was at once restored to the large garden 
which had become a wilderness; the dismantled rooms 
were furnished anew, and when several German country- 
men saw the restored villa they were so charmed with its 
appearance they begged the new tenant to sublet several of 
its numerous apartments to them. This was done; and 
when I arrived at Whist Bungalow I found there the quar- 
tette, with whom I passed many a pleasant evening in con- 
versation. There was never any lack of diverse individual 
opinion, which, with us Germans, is quite indispensable — 
the famous " German Unity" to the contrary notwith- 
standing. Herr Both, from Hanau (to whom I am in- 
debted for a neat collection of reptiles), represented the 
Frankfort district of Germany in Ceylon; Herr Suhren, 
from East Friesland (who presented me with a collection 
of beautiful butterflies), the extreme north-west; and Herr 
Herath, from Bayreuth (who delighted me with gifts of 
birds of paradise, parrots, and honey-birds), the Bavarian 
region of the Fatherland. 

The peculiar charm of Whist Bungalow over all other 
Colombo residences, lies partly in its delightful situation, 
and partly in its magnificent surroundings. While the 



56 INDIA AND CEYLON 

out-buildings — servants' quarters, stables, etc. — lib Kir! den 
behind the garden, the main structure stands on the bank 
of a lovely stretch of water that extends along the west 
side of the garden. The airy veranda commands a view of 
the ocean, of the mouth of the Kalany-ganga, and of a lovely 
little wooded island in its delta. Farther towards the north 
the eye follows a belt of cocoa-forest that stretches along 
the coast to Negombo. On the south, contiguous to the 
garden of Whist Bungalow, lies a picturesque tract of land 
over which, with a charming disregard for order, are scat- 
tered fishing-huts under slender cocoa-palms, between them 
a diminutive Buddha temple, and beyond them the rocks 
of the shore, ornamented with grotesque pandanus shrubs, 
etc. From this point a narrow sandy tongue of land juts 
in a northerly direction towards the mouth of the river, 
and, stretching in front of our garden, forms a peaceful 
little inland sea. The tongue of land which separates this 
lake from the adjacent ocean is densely overgrown with the 
lovely crimson-flowered goat's-foot (Ipomea pes capri), and 
the singular water-pink (Spinifex squarrosus). It also 
serves as terra firma for several fishing-huts, and all day 
long a succession of animated and interesting pictures may 
be seen along its strand. In the early morning, before the 
sun has risen, the fishermen and their families here take 
their morning bath, then the horses and oxen take theirs. 
Industrious washers are busy from morning till night beat- 
ing the clothes on smooth stones, or spreading them on 
the bank to dry. Numerous fishing craft sail up and down, 
and evenings, when they are drawn on the beach, and 
their large square sails stretched out to dry, the tongue of 
land, with the long row of motionless boats, affords an 
exceedingly picturesque sight — especially if the sails are 
swelled by the evening breeze, and the. setting sun, just 
dipping into the ocean, floods the entire Indian coast with 
radiant gold, orange, and purple. 

According to information received from my friends, this 
sandy tongue has frequently changed in form. It is, in 
fact, one of those movable bars which are found fronting 
the outlets of all the larger rivers of Ceylon. The latter, 
in their wild course from the mountains, bring with them 
masses of gravel and sand, to which, in their more leisurely 
progress through, the low coast-land, the abundant rains 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 57 

add large quantities of earth and mud. All this deposited 
at the mouths of the rivers in a short time forms consid- 
erable bars. The shape, size, and position of these bars is 
constantly changing, according to the direction taken by 
the outlets of the river thiough its level delta. In former 
times the principal outlet of the Kalany-ganga was a mile 
farther to the south, through the Cinnamon Gardens.^- 
The lagoons in that suburb, which are still connected with* 
the Kalany by narrow canals, are the remnants of the 
former outlet; the largest portion of Colombo then occu- 
pied the delta of the river. In a like manner the pic- 
turesque bar opposite Whist Bungalow was at one time 
connected with the mainland at its northern extremity, at 
another time by its southern point, while the wooded islet 
in the principal outlet of the river was at one time a pen- 
insula, at another an isolated island. The shore of this 
island, as well as the banks of the river adjoining the gar- 
den of Whist Bungalow, is densely overgrown with re- 
markable mangrove trees, whose peculiar land-producing 
activity I witnessed the first time I visited their neighbor- 
hood. The trees, which are comprised under the name of 
mangrove, or mangle-tree, belong to very various genera 
and families {Rliizopliora, Sonneratia, Lomnitzera, Avicen- 
nia, etc.), but in their peculiar form of growth and conse- 
quent physiognomy they all essentially agree — a compact, 
usually circular, crown of foliage resting on a thick stem 
that rises from a mass of bare, interlaced roots. These 
dome-shaped root-works frequently rise above the surface 
of the water six or eight feet; the mud and sand from the 
surcharged rivers accumulate among them, and in this 
manner a clump of mangroves can materially favor an in- 
crease in the land. Many organic substances — dead bodies, 
fragments of animals and plants — also lodge in the inter- 
laced roots, converting in many tropical localities, the 
mangrove-forest into a source of dangerous ftvers. This,' 
however, is not the case with the mangrove-forests of 
Ceylon, where the watered regions (for instance, the stag- 
nant lagoons of Colombo) are by no means unhealthy. 
This, perhaps, may be accounted for by the fact that the 
copious and almost continuous rains on the island fre- 
quently renew the waters in the stagnant basins, and 
remove the decomposing substances before they effect any 



58 INDIA AND CEYLON 

harm. Instead of man groves there are a number of beau- 
tiful shrubs growing along the bank of our garden belong- 
ing to the AsclejoiadecB family (Cerbera, Tdbemmmontana, 
Plumiera), all of them distinguished by clusters of large, 
white, deliciously-fragrant blossoms, like oleanders, hang- 
ing from the ends of the candelabra-like stem which rises 
, from the centre of a shining tuft of dark-green leathery 
leaves. Most of these asclepia trees yield a poisonous milky 
sap. They belong to the most numerous and most char- 
acteristic decorations of the roadsides and swampy meadows 
of the richly-watered lowlands in the south-western part of 
the island. Between them, towering here and there above 
the bank, are huge but dainty tufts of the giant-grasses 
(Bambusa). 

The garden proper of Whist Bungalow has, through the 
tasteful care of its proprietor, been converted into a charm- 
ing bit of paradise in which may be found representatives 
of almost every important character-plant on the island; 
thus forming not only an odorous and flourishing pleasure 
garden, but an instructive botanic garden on a small scale. 
The first time I visited it and wandered, intoxicated with 
delight, among the palms and figs, bananas and acacias, I 
obtained an excellent idea of the plants comprised in the 
flora of the lowlands. Naturally the first to deserve men- 
tion is the noble family of palms: cocoa and talipot, areca 
and borassus, caryota and Palmyra; then the splendid 
light green bananas with their delicate, wind-torn plumes 
and precious golden fruit. Besides the different varieties 
of the common banana (Musa sapientum), our garden con- 
tains a tall, magnificent example of the curious fan-shaped 
" traveler's-tree" of Madagascar (Urania speciosa). To 
the left of it is a fine specimen of the sacred fig tree (Ficus 
bengalensis), that, with its air-joots depending from the 
branches, some of them rooted in the ground, forms a very 
curious objec% several graceful Gothic arches are formed 
by these root-trunks which act as supporting pillars for 
the main branches. Other trees, of various groups (ter- 
minalia, laurels, myrtles, iron-wood, bread-fruit, etc.), are 
overgrown and festooned by those lianas which play soim- 
portant a part in the flora of Ceylon. These belong to 
various plant-families, for, in the midst of this unsur- 
passed plenitude of existence, under the matchless influ- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 59 

ence of perpetual hea-t and moisture, a multitude of differ- 
ent plants, growing in the dense thickets of this verdant 
wonder-island, climb upward by the aid of other plants to 
the light and air. 

Other adornments in our charming garden are large- 
leaved callas, or Aroiclecs, and graceful ferns — two plant- 
groups that play an important role in the lower flora 
of the island. Interspersed among the latter are many 
more ornamental foliage and flowering plants, some of 
w 7 hich are indigenous to the island, and some from other 
regions of the torrid zone — namely, South America — but 
perfectly at home here. Above them tower stately hibiscus 
trees with large crimson or yellow flowers; flame-acacias 
(Caesalinnia) with huge, gorgeous, flame-colored nosegays; 
mighty tamarinds with aromatic blossoms, and, hanging 
in festoons from the branches, graceful thunbergias with 
huge violet bells; aristolochias with large yellow and brown 
trumpet-shaped blossoms. Of extraordinary size and gaudy 
coloring are many of the flowers of the madder plants 
(Bubiacece) , lilies, orchids, etc. 

But I shall not further impose on the reader meagre 
descriptions and uninteresting botanical terms in the vain 
hope that they will give him an adequate conception of the 
enchanting beauty unfolded by the Indian flora in Ceylon, 
and first seen by me in the garden of Whist Bungalow and 
on the banks of the Kalany Eiver. 

The first morning I spent in this paradise I wandered 
for hours intoxicated with delight from plant to plant, 
from tree-group to tree-group, unable to decide which of 
the countless wonders was most worthy of my attention. 
How paltry now seemed everything I had admired at 
Bombay! 

The animal world which animates this Ceylon Paradise 
cannot compare in abundance or size with the extraordi- 
nary splendor and exuberance of the plant world. 

In this respect the island, from what I have heard and 
read, cannot compare with the mainland of India, or the 
Sunda Islands. 

It is also inferior to tropical Africa and Brazil, and I 
must confess that my first disappointment increased rather 
than diminished when I became familiar with the fauna of 
the more unfrequented portions of the island. I had hoped 



60 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

to find the trees and bushes covered with apes and parrots; 
the flowers with butterflies and beetles of rare forms and 
gorgeous hues. But neither the quantity nor quality of 
what I found came up with my extravagant expectations, 
and I had at length only the consolation of knowing that 
all the zoologists that had visited Ceylon before me must 
have experienced a similar disenchantment. However, 
careful search will reveal, even to the critical zoologist, 
much that is new and interesting; the fauna of Ceylon is 
after all no less original and curious, if not so abundant 
and beautiful, as its flora. 

The vertebrates which from the very first most attracted 
me in the garden of Whist Bungalow and the neighbor- 
hood around Colombo, were numerous reptiles of brilliant- 
hues and peculiar form, namely,' snakes and lizards; pretty 
little tree-frogs (Ixalus) whose strange bell-like notes are 
heard everywhere in the evening. 

Of the birds in the garden the most numerous are star* 
lings and crows, water-wagtails, bee-eaters, and the dainty 
little creature which here takes the place of the humming- 
bird: the honey-bird {Nectarinia)\ kingfishers, and herons 
are found along the banks of the rivers. 

Of the mammals in the garden by far the most numerous 
are cunning little squirrels {Sciuras tristrmtus) that scam- 
per everywhere among the trees and bushes; they are very 
tame and trustful — are a brown-gray with three white 
streaks down their backs. 

Among the insects, ants (from the most minute in size 
to the largest kinds) are the most preponderant; then 
termites or so-called " white ants." Other Hymenoptera 
(wasps and bees) as well as the Diptera are largely repre- 
sented. On the other hand, those orders which include 
the largest and most beautiful forms — butterflies and 
beetles — are not as abundant as one would naturally expect 
from the exuberance of the vegetation. However, the 
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, etc.) are both curious 
and multiform. 

Very interesting and remarkable articulates are offered 
by the spider class, or Arachnida, from the smallest mites 
and ticks to the gigantic bird-catchers and scorpions. 
The closely-allied milleped, or myriapod family is also 
largely represented; some of its members grow to an im- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 61 

mense length — a foot long! and are greatly feared on ac- 
count of their poisonous sting. I saw one of these colossal 
fellows the first morning in the garden at Whist Bungalow, 
but I had no time then to devote to animal-wonders, — my 
attention was too closely engaged with the beauty of the 
vegetable world. How gladly would I have devoted months 
and years to the study of this magnificent flora for which 
there were but a few short days and weeks at my disposal! 

In addition to the attractions around me, the Indian sun 
shone so brightly in a deep blue, cloudless sky that my 
poor northern eyes were almost dazzled by the radiant light 
and brilliant hues, and the tropical heat would have been 
intolerable had there not been a cool gentle breeze from 
the sea. It was the 22d of November, the birthday of my 
dear father, who died ten years ago at the age of ninety. 
To-day he would have celebrated the one hundredth anni- 
versary of his birth, and as my intense love for nature is 
an inheritance from him, a strangely solemn feeling came 
over me when I remembered what day it was, and I ac- 
cepted the rare enjoyment of these precious hours as a fit- 
ting gift for this festal day! 

Natural enjoyments like these have an inestimable value 
above all artistic and other pleasures in that they never 
pall, and that the nature susceptible to their influence ever 
returns to them with renewed sympathy and increased 
understanding. This is why the morning rambles in the 
paradisal garden of Whist Bungalow and the surrounding 
country — now along the banks of the river, now along the 
seashore — were repeated on every successive morning good 
fortune allowed me to remain in Colombo, and why I took 
leave of Ceylon, on the 10th of March, 1882, with a feeling 
of "Paradise Lost"! My botanical information was ma- 
terially increased by several visits I paid to different English 
residents of Colombo and its suburbs. One visit in particu- 
lar I remember with much pleasure. It was to the " Villa 
of the Temple-trees;" thus the plumiera trees are called 
because their large, deliciously fragrant flowers, together 
with the blossoms of the jasmine and the oleander, are 
scattered as offerings in front of the image of Buddha in 
the Buddhist temples. Two magnificent temple- trees, to- 
gether with a gigantic casuarina, stood on the broad lawn 
which separated the stately villa from the Galle road. The 



62 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

• 

proprietor of this handsome residence, Mr. Staniforth 
Green, had cordially invited me to spend several days with 
him. I found him a most agreeable old gentleman, and a 
most enthusiastic admirer of nature. Every hour he can 
spare from his extensive coffee-mills is devoted to the culti- 
vation of a beautiful garden, and in collecting and study- 
ing the habits of insects and plants. With the sincere and 
passionate care which characterized the naturalist of the 
preceding century, and which is daily becoming more rare 
among the "assiduous" young "scientists" of the present 
day, Mr. Green has devoted years to studying the habits 
and development of the most minute insects, and has made 
a number of valuable discoveries, some of which have been 
published in the English newspapers. 

He has a large number of exceedingly interesting curiosi- 
ties, some of which he very kindly presented to me. His 
nephew, who is associated with him in business, is also 
devoted to this favorite study, and has a handsome collec- 
tion of insects. From him also I received a number of 
gifts, among them several examples of the gigantic bird- 
catching spider (Mi/gale), whose chase after little birds 
(JSTectarinia) and lizards (Platyclactylus) Mr. Green has fre- 
quently observed. 

Mr. Green's garden, which contains several ancient 
"flame acacias" (Cqesalpinia), as well as some splendid 
yuccas and climbing palms {Calamus), lies on the banks of 
a charming little cove of the lagoon which extends between 
Colpetty, Slave Island, and the fort. One lovely evening 
we rowed across the cove, whose surface was spangled with 
exquisite white and red water-lilies, to the villa of Mr. 
William Ferguson. This amiable old gentleman (for many 
years superintendent of the construction of roads) also 
devotes his leisure hours to zoological and botanical re- 
searches, and has enriched those domains with a number 
of valuable contributions. To him also I am indebted for 
much interesting information. Mr. William Ferguson is 
not to be confounded with his totally dissimilar brother, 
the so-called " Ceylon Commissioner," the editor and pub- 
lisher of the most influential newspaper on the island, the 
Ceylon Observer. This sheet is edited in that spirit of 
stern orthodoxy and intolerant bigotry which unfortu- 
nately distinguishes so many of the pretended "liberal" 



.INDIA AND CEYLON. 63 

English newspapers. At the time of my visit in Colombo 
the columns of the Observer were filled with a vigorous on- 
slaught on a most meritorious and well-informed jurist, 
Mr. Berwick, a district judge, because he in one of his 
arguments had acknowledged and cleverly applied the 
Darwinian tenets of modern natural philosophy. The 
specific piety, however, of the " Ceylon Commissioner" 
did not hinder him from selling a faulty and unreliable 
map of the coffee district for eighteen rupees! 

I accompanied Mr. Green to the Colombo Museum, an 
imposing two-storied building which stands in the Cinna- 
mon Gardens, and contains collections of the literary, his- 
torical, and natural curiosities of the island. The lower 
story is occupied on one side by a valuable library, on the 
other are relics of antiquity: ancient inscriptions, sculp- 
tures, coins, ethnographic collections, etc. In the upper 
story is a rich collection of natural curiosities, principally 
dried and stuffed animals, exclusively Ceylonese. The in- 
sect family is especially rich in its representation — particu- 
larly those orders which Dr. Haly, the director of the 
museum, has made a special study. There is also a fine dis- 
play of birds and reptiles, but in most divisions of the 
lower animal kingdom much still remains to be supplied. 
However, the exhibition of fauna peculiar to the island is 
very creditable, but the zoologist direct from Europe will 
find many of the specimens in a rather unsatisfactory con- 
dition. Many of the stuffed animals are badly prepared, 
mouldy, decayed, etc. But criticism of these faults will 
come only from the novice who is unfamiliar with the ex- 
traordinary difficulties which attend the preservation of 
such collections in the moist, hot-house climate of Ceylon. 
Bitter experience later convinced me of this fact. If in a 
perpetual heat of 20-25° K., and a moist atmosphere that 
surpasses the European conception of dampness, iron and 
steel rust in spite of every precaution, and leather and 
paper mould in a very short time, it is natural to suppose 
that the chitinous frames of insects as well as the skins of 
animals will sooner or later succumb to decay. Various 
insects also are as destructive as the heat and moisture: 
black and red ants "(some of them two and three times as 
large as those at home, and some almost microscopic in 
size); white ants or termites (the worst of all insect 



64 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

enemies); giant cockroaches (Blatter), paper-lice (Psocus), 
wood-lice, and other vermin vie "with each other in destroy- 
ing a collection. Indeed it is almost impossible to protect 
anything- destructible from the ceaseless attacks of these 
diminutive foes; in spite of every precaution I lost a large 
part of the collections I made while in Ceylon. 

The first days of astonishment and admiration past, 
I began to unpack the thousand and one things in 
my trunks and boxes — and in what a condition I found 
most of them! Every particle of iron and steel about the 
scientific instruments was covered with rust; none of the 
screws would budge; every book, every bit of paper, as 
well as every article of leather, was damp and covered with 
mould. But what grieved me most was the condition in 
which I found my precious " dress-coat" — a garment that 
plays as important a role in English society here as at 
home in Europe. When I took it from the trunk I 
scarcely recognized it; it had completely changed color, 
and was, like all the rest of my wearing apparel, orna- 
mented with landscapes executed in green and white 
mould! These vanished only after the garments had been 
aired and sunned for several days. Such a condition of 
affairs renders it absolutely necessary for every European 
household in Ceylon to employ a " clothes- boy," whose 
sole duty it is to prevent, by constant airing and sunning, 
the mould from accumulating on wearing apparel, house- 
hold linen, paper, etc. The brand new photographic 
camera obscura, which I had purchased from a reliable 
house in Berlin, and which had been " warranted" made 
of "perfectly dry wood," was found on unpacking to be 
utterly useless; the wood was warped and twisted out of all 
shape, as were even the lids of my wooden boxes. The 
gummed envelops of which I had brought a supply were 
securely sealed; a box of pulverized gum-arabic had be- 
come a mass of solid cement, while a second box that I had 
filled with medicinal lozenges before leaving home con- 
tained a thick syrup strongly flavored with peppermint. 
Still more astonishing was the opening of a box of effer- 
vescent powders; the tartaric acid had vanished from the 
blue papers, while the white wrappers contained jonly some 
carbonate of soda instead of the original carbonic acid! 
This is what happened to me in Ceylon in the " dry sea- 



INDIA AND CEYLON 65 

son," from November to April; what must it be in the 
season called " wet" when, from May until October, the 
rain-teeming south-west monsoon prevails? My friends as- 
sured me that no one pretended to keep anything dry in the 
rainy season, and that the water ran down the walls. 

That such a forcing-house temperature should uncom- 
fortably affect the human organism accustomed to the 
totally different climate of Central Europe is very natural, 
also that the struggle with this inimical climate is the daily 
subject of conversation. I must confess that I was at a 
loss how to adapt myself to it. The first weeks in Colombo 
I found the annoyances and inconveniences almost unen- 
durable, especially during the hot nights, when the tem- 
perature rarely fell below 20° E., while during the day it 
frequently rose in the shade to 24° and 28°. However the 
second week was not so disagreeable as the first, and later, 
even on the south coast near the fifth degree of south latitude, 
I never suffered as much as during the first sleepless nights 
and enervating days in Colombo. Under these conditions 
the daily bath becomes an indispensable luxury. I generally 
refreshed myself with three, one directly after rising in the 
morning about six o'clock, a second before the so-called 
"breakfast" at midday, and a third before dinner, about 
seven o'clock. I likewise adopted the peculiar dress worn 
by the Europeans in the tropics: garments made of the 
lightest cotton material, and a Calcutta or sola hat — an 
extremely light and comfortable covering for the head, 
made of the pith of the sola plant. 

After adopting this costume, and strictly observing other 
precautionary regulations, which in the tropics are ab- 
solutely necessary for the preservation of health, I got on 
very comfortably, and was perfectly well during the entire 
time of my sojourn on the island, although — and perhaps 
too because I did so — I exercised every day, even during 
the hot hours of noon. Of course 1 lived more simply and 
abstemiously than is the custom here; I did not eat half 
the quantity of food, or drink half the amount the English 
resident considers necessary for his comfort. If these peo- 
ple, after a few years' sojourn in the tropics, complain of 
diseases of the liver and stomach, then the blame, accord- 
ing to my thinking, may be laid more to the want of proper 
exercise and the inordinate consumption of dainties than 



66 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

to the hot climate. Frequently they eat and drink three 
times as much, and of the richest food and hottest spiritu- 
ous liquors, as is necessary for health. In this particular 
the habits of the English resident form a most decided con- 
trast to those of the native, which are extremely simple; 
the food of the latter is chiefly rice and curry and several 
fruits, while his beverage is simply water, or at most palm 
wine. 

In Ceylon, as in most parts of British India, the 
Europeans take their meals as follows: Mornings, directly 
after they arise, tea and biscuits, bread, eggs, marmalade, 
and fruits. At ten o'clock a breakfast that with us would 
be a complete dinner. The third meal "tiffin" follows at 
one o'clock. Many persons serve coffee and tea at three or 
four o'clock. At half past seven or eight, dinner — the 
principal meal — is served. Different wines accompany this 
meal, sherry, claret, champagne, and sometimes stronger 
liquors or beer which has been imported from England. 
Lately a better and lighter malt liquor from Vienna has 
taken the place of the English beer. In many houses one 
or two of these meals is dispensed with; but, as a general 
thing, the life of the foreigner in India is entirely too 
luxurious, especially when it is compared with the frugal 
habits of Southern Europe. This is also the opinion of 
several of the older English residents in Ceylon who lead 
simpler lives, and who, after an unbroken residence in the 
tropics of twenty or thirty years, still enjoy perfect health, 
as, for instance, Dr. Thwaites, the former excellent director 
of the Botanic Garden at Parcedenia. 



V. 

Kaduwella. 



The many delightful experiences and noble impressions 
of my first week in Ceylon were crowned by a memorable 
excursion, in company with my friends, on the 27th of 
November, to Kaduwella. It was my first Sunday on the 
island, and, although the manifold enjoyments of the past 
week-days made every one of them seem a holiday, my 
festal mood attained its highest pitch on this my first ex- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 67 

tended tour into the more distant surroundings of Colombo, 
and, as the scenery of this part is essentially the same as 
that of the whole south west coast-land, I will attempt just 
here to give you a brief description of it. 

Kaduwella is a strictly Singhalese village on the south 
bank of the Kalany Kiver, ten English miles from Whist 
Bungalow. The excellent carriage road (which continues 
further to Awisawella and Fort Ruanwelle) now skirts the 
wooded banks of the Kalany, now crosses the country in 
wide detours to avoid the numerous windings of the river. 
Like all the carriage roads on the island this one is in 
perfect repair, a fact that is all the more deserving of 
praise when you remember that the violent and copious 
rains frequently wash out long stretches of the road, and 
render it an extremely difficult matter to maintain a high- 
way in such excellent condition. But the English Govern- 
ment justly recognizes the importance of constructing and 
maintaining perfect media of communication in Ceylon as 
well as all the rest of her colonies; and it speaks volumes for 
her unequalled talent for colonization that, in order to ac- 
complish her purpose — even in the face of almost insuper- 
able difficulties — she spares neither expense nor labor. 

My hosts from Whist Bungalow and several other Ger- 
man countrymen, who were living at the neighboring Elie 
House (once occupied by Sir Emerson Tennent), had made 
all the necessary arrangements for the gastronomic success 
of our excursion. All the solids and fluids requisite for an 
opulent breakfast a la fourchette, together with the fire- 
arms, ammunition, bottles, and tin-cases for my collections, 
etc., were packed in small, open caleshes drawn by a brisk 
Burmese pony, or else a stronger Australian horse. Almost 
all the carriage and riding horses are imported from the 
mainland of India, or from Australia, as the practice of 
breeding horses is not successful in Ceylon. European 
horses, being unable to endure the climate, soon become 
useless. The little ponies from Burmah travel excellently 
well, although their powers of endurance are by no means 
great, ten miles (two or three hours) being sufficient to tire 
them out. The coachmen are usually Tamils clad in white 
jackets with red turbans; they disjjlay an astonishing- 
amount of endurance as they run behind the calesh, or 
stand sideways on the step; they are obliged to keep up a 



68 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

continual hallooing, as the Singhalese (especially the aged 
people), together with their oxen and dogs, seem to have a 
decided predilection for being run over by a swiftly-travel- 
ing carriage. 

The sun was not yet up when we drove away from Whist 
Bungalow, through the suburb of Mutwal and the contigu- 
ous grand pass, out into the smiling garden-land which, 
alternated by jungle, rice-fields, and meadows, stretches for 
miles to the foot of the mountains. The suburbs of Co- 
lombo, like those of all the cities on the island, extend im- 
perceptibly, frequently for miles, into straggling villages 
along the road; and as each native hut is surrounded by a 
garden, a field, or a bit of woodland, it is often difficult to 
clearly define the limits of the separate villages. In the 
densely populated and richly cultivated portions of the flat 
coast-land there is no perceptible interruption, and one 
may say that the entire stretch of coast from Colombo to 
Matura, — the most southerly point of the island,— is occu- 
pied by a single, long village, interspersed with fruit-gar- 
dens, jungle, and cocoa-forest. Everywhere the same 
rustic elements characterize these paradisal gardens: pic- 
turesque brown earth-huts shaded by bread-fruit and mango 
trees, by cocoa and areca palms, garlanded by pisang hedges, 
ornamented with the gigantic foliage of the caladium and 
ricinus, the elegant papaya trees, manihot shrubs, and 
other useful plants. 

On benches in front of the open huts the indolent 
Singhalese is stretched out in dreamy clolce far niente, en- 
gaged in lazily surveying his ever-green environments, or 
in leisurely searching for the tiny insect that infests the 
long black hair of his head. Naked children are playing 
everywhere, darting after the gaudy butterflies and lizards 
that animate the scene. At certain hours of the day num- 
bers of ox-carts, single and double, are to be seen on the 
much-frequented road; these conveyances form the chief, 
indeed almost the only, means of transport and communica- 
tion for the native population. The oxen belong to the zebu 
or Indian humped bison (Bos indicus) family, and are 
distinguished by a fleshy protuberance or hump on the 
shoulders. Like the bovine genera of Europe, the zebu 
family of India has many species; some of them — a dimin- 
utive species — are very swift and agile. Horses are rarely 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 69 

used by the natives, and asses are unknown to the island. 
Around the huts, everywhere, are large numbers of dogs 
(here called "pariah dogs"), all of the same species, ugly, 
bristly, brownish-yellow creatures, whose form, color, and 
disposition betray their jackal origin. Numbers of small, 
black hogs (Sus indicus) are also to be found everywhere; 
also long-legged lean goats; sheep are more rarely seen. 
There are numbers of chickens around the huts, but very 
few ducks and geese. These are the simple, ever-recurring 
elements which compose the village scenery of the whole 
south-west coast of Ceylon. But there is such a delicious 
naturalness about the simple components, they are grouped 
with such charming disregard for order and regularity and 
are of such infinite variety, they are illumined and tinted 
by the radiant tropical sunshine, the near seashore or 
river bank lends them fresh attractions, the background of 
forest, or distant mountain land, so much poetry, that one 
never tires admiring them, or thinking that the landscape 
and genre painter might here find a boundless wealth of 
exquisite subjects — subjects that are almost unknown to 
the art-exhibitions of the present. 

A peculiarly charming effect of this Oeylonese coast 
landscape is the middle point which it seems to occupy 
between garden and forest scenery, between nature and 
cultivation. Often one imagines one's self in the midst of 
the most savage forest, encompassed by tall magnificent 
trees festooned and overgrown with lianas of all sorts. 
But a hut that lies quite in the shadow of a bread-fruit 
tree, a dog or a pig emerging from the bushes, playing 
children hiding under caladium leaves, tell us that we are 
ouly in a Ceylonese garden. On the other hand, the actual 
forest contiguous to the garden, with its multifarious com- 
binations of the most different trees, its orchids, spice 
lilies, hibiscus, and other showy flowering plants, offers 
such a variety that we readily believe ourselves in a beauti- 
ful garden. This peculiar harmony between nature and 
cultivation is also expressed by the human life that ani- 
mates these forest-gardens; the clothing and habitations of 
the Singhalese are of such primitive simplicity that the 
familiar descriptions of "genuine savages" might truth- 
fully be applied to them, although they are descended from 
an ancient and cultured people. 



70 INDIA AND CEYLON 

All this is doubly attractive and picturesque in the early 
morning, when the rays of the sun are just beginning to 
peer through the interstices of the dewy foliage, when they 
cast long-drawn shadows of the slender stems and feathered 
crowns of the palms, and fling thousands of sparkling 
gems over the cloven leaves of the pisang. 

During the time of my visit, at the period of the south- 
Avest monsoon, the morning hours were unfailingly clear 
and cloudless, and always refreshed by a deliciously cool 
' and invigorating breeze from the sea, although the ther- 
mometer usually registered 20° R., rarely less than 18°. At 
nine or ten o'clock the heat increased and became oppres- 
sive; the sky was overcast by heavy storm clouds, which 
towards midday discharged copious showers. If these 
ceased by four or five o'clock then the evening was most 
delightful — especially if the setting sun flooded the clouds 
in the western sky with a radiance that defies all descrip- 
tion. This year the rains were not as regular as in past 
years; there were also other exceptions to the general rule. 
On the whole, however, my excursions were usually favored 
by pleasant weather, and but few of my plans were frus- 
trated by long-continued rains. 

After a two hours' very interesting ride we arrived at the 
village of Kaduwella, which is picturesquely situated in a 
wide sweep of the Kalany Eiver. Especially charming is 
the situation of the rest-house, under the shade of the 
most beautiful trees, on an eminence overlooking the river, 
at which we alighted and put up our ponies. Rest-house is 
the name given to the houses which the government, in 
the absence of hotels, has erected in Ceylon and India for the 
convenience of travelers, and which are under its control 
and management. In all Ceylon there are but three cities 
that can boast of a hotel: Colombo, Gralle, and Kandy. The 
native does not require such houses of entertainment, con- 
sequently the foreign traveler is entirely dependent either 
on the hospitality of the European colonists (where there 
are such) or on the government rest-houses, which truly 
supply a most urgent need. The rest-house keeper, who is 
employed by the government, is obliged to furnish the trav- 
eler (for a small sum — usually a rupee — that is paid 
over to the government) with a room and a bed, as well as 
necessary food. Price and quality of the latter vary con- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 71 

siderably, as also the condition of the rest-honses them- 
selves. 

In the south-western parts of Ceylon, where I spent 
most of my time, I found them generally good and Tery 
comfortable — particularly at Belligam, where I set up my 
laboratory in the rest-house for six weeks. But the reverse 
of good may be said of most of these government lodging- 
houses in many parts of the interior: in the northern and 
eastern parts of the island their accommodations are both 
inferior and expensive, as, for instance, in ISTeuera Ellia, 
where I had to pay for an egg a half, and for a cup of tea, 
a whole shilling. The rest-house at Kaduwella is one of 
the smaller and less pretentious lodging-houses, and as we 
had brought with us our own provisions, we required noth- 
ing from it but some chairs to sit on, water and fire to 
prepare our meal, and permission to eat it on the airy ver- 
anda, whose sheltering roof would protect us from the 
sun and rain, for all of which we were taxed accord- 
ingly. 

In India nothing but death is gratuitous! 

Shortly after our arrival we shouldered our guns and 
started out to take advantage of the beautiful morning. 
Behind the village, and to the south of the KalanyKiver, is 
a stretch of undulating country, over which our hunting 
party dispersed itself. The lower portions of this territory 
are covered with grass meadows and rice fields, intersected 
by numerous drains and canals, and adorned by miniature 
lakes, into which the latter empty. The elevations, gently- 
sloping hills from one to two hundred feet high, are 
clothed with dense jungle — and here I made my first ac- 
quaintance with this characteristic form of the landscape 
which on the whole island, wherever there is no cultiva- 
tion, plays so important a part. The jungle cannot justly 
be called a "primeval forest," that is a region untrod- 
den by the foot of man (in Ceylon such tracts are of small 
extent and rare occurrence); but it corresponds with our 
ideas of a primitive forest in that it, by its higher develop- 
ment, represents a forest form that is composed of a dense 
and impenetrable tangle of the most diverse varieties of 
trees. These have shot upward with a total disregard for 
regularity, unrestrained by human influence, and are so 
thickly overgrown with multitudes of creepers and climb- 



72 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

ing ferns, orchids, and other parasites, that it is quite 
impossible to disentangle the closely interwoven forms. 
That such a jangle, perfect in all its parts, is really impen- 
etrable, unaided by fire and axe, my first attempt to enter 
it convinced me. A good hour's work enabled me to ad- 
vance but a few steps into the thicket; then, utterly dis- 
comfited, I desisted from farther attempt. I was stung by 
mosquitoes, bitten by ants, with torn clothing, bleeding 
arms and legs, wounded by the thousands of sharp thorns 
with which the calamus, hibiscus, euphorbias, Ian tanas, 
and a host of other jungle plants repulse every effort to 
penetrate their mysterious labyrinth. But my vain at- 
tempt was not entirely without reward. I not only became 
thoroughly familiar with the character of a jungle, with its 
splendid trees and lianas, I also beheld many new vegetable 
and animal forms that were of the greatest interest to me. 
I saw the magnificent Gloriosa superba — the poisonous 
climbing lily of Ceylon — with its red-gold chalices; the 
prickly Hibiscus radiatus, with huge sulphur-colored 
flower-cups, and hovering over them gigantic black butter- 
flies with blood-red spots on their tail-shaped wing-appen- 
dages, and beetles that gleamed with a metallic lustre in the 
sunlight. But what delighted me most was, that on my 
first introduction to a Ceylon jangle I should also become 
acquainted with two of its most characteristic inhabitants 
— members of the highest animal class: apes and parrots. 
A flock of green parrots flew screaming from a tall tree that 
towered above the jungle when they saw my gun; and at 
the same time a number of large black apes fled chattering 
into the thicket. I did not succeed in getting a shot at 
either the former or the latter — they were evidently too fa- 
miliar with the deadly effects of fire-arms. However, I 
fras consoled by the fact that my first shot secured for me 
a colossal lizard, or iguana, over six feet long. This is the 
remarkable Hyclrosaurus salvator, an animal much feared 
by the superstitious natives. The huge, crocodile-like 
beast was sunning himself on the edge of a ditch, and the 
first shot was so happily aimed at his head that instant 
death was the result; if the ball strikes a. less vital part of 
the body the beast, which is very tenacious of life, will 
dart hastily into the water and disappear; with their pow- 
erful scaly tails they can defend themselves so effectively 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 73 

that a blow from them frequently causes serious wounds, 
sometimes even a broken limb. 

^* After we had waded several ditches, and rambled some 
distance through a pleasant grove, we ascended a hill on 
which is a famous Buddhist temple, the object of numerous 
pilgrimages. We passed several groups of huts, which, 
half-hidden in the dense shade of mighty trees (termina- 
lia and laurels), looked like so many toy-houses. Further 
on we crossed a sunny clearing, in which gorgeous butter- 
flies and birds were flying about in great numbers, particu- 
larly woodpeckers and wild pigeons. At length a flight of 
steps between talipot palms led us up to the temple, which 
is in a rarely picturesque nook in the middle of a tall grove 
and under the shelter of a huge granite rock. A wide 
grotto that has evidently been enlarged by artificial means 
extends some distance beneath the overhanging mass of 
granite. The pillared hall of the temple is built into the 
grotto in such a manner that the naked rock not only 
forms the rear wall, but the material for the colossal 
image of the recumbent Buddha. The figure of the god 
is the same in all the Buddhist temples I visited while in 
Ceylon, as are also the monotonous paintings on the walls, 
which, in the interior of the temple, represent scenes from 
the earthly life of Buddha. These works of art, with their 
stiff, angular lines, and simple, harsh colors (principally 
yellow, brown, and red), remind one of the ancient Egyp- 
tian wall-paintings, although they differ materially in the 
details. The prostrate figure of Buddha, which rests on 
the right arm, and is enveloped in a yellow vestment, al- 
ways exhibits the same staring and rigid expression, that 
reminds one of the forced smiles on the faces of the ancient 
iEginetan statues. Beside most of the Buddha temples is 
a dagoba, a bell-shaped dome without any opening, that is 
said to contain a relic of the god. The dagobas vary 
greatly in size, from that of a large church-bell to the cir- 
cumference of the dome on St. Peter's at Eome. Near 
the dagoba there is usually a large ancient Bo-tree, or sa- 
cred fig tree (Ficus religiosa). In many parts of Ceylon 
these " Buddha trees," with their powerful trunks, fantas- 
tically interlaced roots, and huge crowns of foliage, form 
the most attractive features in the picturesque environs of 
the temples. The heart-shaped leaves on their long slender 



74 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

stems quiyer like the foliage of our northern trembling 
aspen. A flight of granite steps behind the temple leads to 
the upper surface of -the rock, from whence may be had a 
fine view of the neighboring hills and across the plain to 
the river. Palms and bananas adorn the immediate sur- 
roundings of the temple, and behind them an impenetrable 
thicket with lianas of all sorts forms a mystical back- 
ground that fitly corresponds with the sanctity of the holy 
place. In front of the temple, on a rock beside the steps, 
crouched an old bald-headed priest in a yellow gown, and 
while I made a hasty sketch of him a Singhalese lad 
climbed a cocoa tree near, and fetched me one of its golden 
nuts; I found the sweetish, slightly acid water it contained 
a most refreshing drink for the hot noonday. 

We returned to Kaduwella through a diiferent part of 
the forest, and saw a number of new in sects, birds, and 
plants; among the latter the celebrated teak tree (Tectonia 
grandis), as well as gigantic specimens of the cactus- 
formed wolfs-milk (Euphorbia antiquorum), with bare, 
blue-green prismatic branches. The latter part of our 
route, through swampy meadows, was so excessively hot 
that out first act on arriving at the rest-house was a plunge 
in the river — a delicious refreshment that gave the merry 
breakfast which followed a keener relish. 

In the afternoon I rowed across the river to the thicket 
on the opposite bank, and found a number of plant-forms 
hitherto unknown to me — namely, AroidecB and Camiacece. 
Along the banks of the river itself elegant bamboos alter- 
nating with terminalia, cedars, and mangroves, form the 
prevailing character of the forest. 

It was late in the'evening when, richly laden with zoo- 
logical, botanical, and art treasures, we returned to Co- 
lombo. Afterwards I spent many more pleasant days in 
the jungles and along the river banks of Ceylon (and 
some of them were more beautiful than the banks at Kadu- 
wella); but, as so often in life, the first impressions of new 
and strange objects are far more enduring, and not to be 
eclipsed by later superior attractions; consequently, the 
first day in the jungle of Kaduwella will ever remain a 
memorable event of my life. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 75 

VI. 

Paredenia. 

Ik the central province of Ceylon, 1500 feet above the 
sea, lies* the former capital of the island, the celebrated 
city of Kandy, and but a few miles distant from it Pare- 
denia, a small town that for a brief season, five hundred 
years ago, likewise enjoyed the honor of being the regal 
residence of an ancient king. Here, in 1819, the English 
Government established a botanic garden, and entrusted 
Dr. Gardner with its management. His successor, Dr. 
Thwaites, the learned author of an excellent " Jfrlora Cey- 
lonica," for thirty years did everything in his power to 
raise the garden to a standard that would correspond. with 
its peculiar climatic and local advantages. On his retire- 
ment, a few years ago, Dr. Henry Trim en was appointed 
director of the garden, and from this gentleman I received 
a cordial invitation to visit Paredenia. I accepted the kind 
invitation all the more readily, because I had already in 
Europe heard and read a great deal about the splendid col- 
lection of rare plants in the Botanic Garden of Paredenia, 
and my great expectations were not disappointed. If Cey- 
lon is in truth a paradise for the botanist, as well as for 
every plant-friend, then Paredenia may justly be termed 
the heart of this botanical Eden. 

Paredenia and Kandy are connected by a railway (the 
first in Ceylon) with Colombo, and the time necessary for a 
journey between the two termini is from four to five hours. 
At seven o'clock in the morning on the 4th of December 
I started from the Central Station in Colombo, and was in 
Paredenia by eleven o'clock. Like all true Europeans in 
Ceylon I had to travel first class (" eouleur blanche oblige"). 
Only the yellow and brown " burghers and half-castes" 
travel in the second-class carriages, while those of the 
third class are occupied solely by the natives — the brown 
Singhalese and black Tamils. I was surprised not to find 
a fourth-class carriage for the latter, and a fifth for the 
despised "low castes." The natives,, by the way, are very 
fond of railway travel, the only amusement on which they 
willingly expend much money. From the opening of the 
line to the present day many of the natives daily ride up 



76 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

and down the wonderful road, merely for the pleasure it 
gives them. The carriages are light and airy; those of the 
first class are furnished with excellent protection against 
the hot climate. The conductors and the white-clad, liel- 
meted guards are English. Excellent order and punctu- 
ality reign here, as on all the lines managed by the British 
G-overnment. 

The first part of the journey from Colombo to Paredenia 
is across flat country, mostly covered with swampy jungle, 
alternated with rice fields and marshes. In the latter 
lie numbers of buffaloes, their black bodies half sub- 
merged in the water, while snowy herons carefully pick the 
insects from them. Farther on the line approaches the 
mountains, and at Rambukkana the ascent begins. The 
hours journey between this station and the one following, 
Kadugannava, is, as far as scenery is concerned, one of the 
most beautiful I have ever enjoyed. The line with many 
curves winds upward from the wide trough of the valley 
along the steep northern face of a rocky declivity. At first 
the eye is attracted by the manifold changes in the scenery 
of the immediate foreground; mighty blocks of gray gneiss 
rise above the exuberant masses of verdure which fill the 
narrow ravines on either side; lianas of most exquisite 
form hang from the tops of tall trees; charming little cas- 
cades leap merrily from points high above us; and, in the 
vicinity of the railway, we occasionally see the excellent 
public road, now so rarely used and once so frequently tra- 
versed, which the British Government built from Colombo 
to Kandy, and which only her enduring sway over the lat- 
ter made feasible. Farther on the glance roves from the 
broad green valley expanding at our feet to the lofty 
mountain chain rising on the other side. Although the 
configuration of the highland mountains is, upon the 
whole, uniform, and not especially interesting (chiefly 
truncated cones of granite or gneiss), yet there are isolated 
peaks here and there which obtrude themselves on one's 
notice — as, for instance, the peculiar mass which bears the 
name of "Bible Eock." One of the grandest sights is 
obtained from "Sensation Rock," where the line, which 
has passed through several tunnels, beneath overhanging 
rocks, runs close to the very edge of a precipice that has a 
sheer descent of 1200-1400 feet. Roaring cascades leap 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 77 

from the rocky wall overhead, and dashing under the 
bridges of the line are transformed into veils of mist, be- 
spangled with every tint of the rainbow, before they reach 
the emerald depths below. 

The valley at our feet is covered partly with jungle and 
partly by cultivated land, over which are scattered numer- 
ous huts, gardens, and terraced rice fields. Everywhere 
above the lower shrubbery tower the giant stems of the 
mighty Palmyra palms (Corypha iimhraculifera), the proud 
queen among the palms of -Ceylon. Its perfectly upright 
stem resembles a slender white marble column, and fre- 
quently grows to a height of over one hundred feet. Every 
one of the fan-shaped leaves composing the ponderous 
crown would cover a half-circular space sixteen feet in 
diameter — a superficial area of two hundred square feet; 
they, like every part of the tree, are used for various pur- 
poses, principally for thatching; they are specially cele- 
brated, however, for their being formerly employed by the 
Singhalese as a substitute for paper, and are still used as 
such for many purposes. The ancient " Puskola" manu- 
scripts in the Buddha monasteries were written with an 
iron style on ' ' ola" paper — narrow strips of talipot leaves 
boiled in water and dried. The talipot blooms but once 
during its life, usually between its fiftieth and eightieth 
years. The stately pyramid of bloom in the centre of the 
leaf-crown frequently reaches a length of thirty or forty 
feet, and. is composed of millions of small creamy blossoms; 
when the nuts have ripened the tree dies. I was fortu- 
nately favored with the rare sight of an unusual number of 
talipot palms in bloom; between Eambukkana and Kadu- 
gannava I counted over sixty, and along the entire line over 
one hundred. Numerous excursions were made from Co- 
lombo to view the magnificent spectacle. 

On the pass of Kadugannava, nearly 2000 feet above the 
sea, the railway as well as the neighboring public road 
reach their highest point; a monument commemorating 
the services of Captain Dawson, builder of the latter road, 
has been erected here. This pass is also a watershed. The 
numerous streams we saw threading the green velvet valley 
like so many strands of silver, flow either into the Kalany- 
ganga or the Maha-oya, both of which debouch on the sea 
from the west coast. Those streams on the eastern slope 



78 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

of the Kadugannava flow into the Mahawelli-ganga, the 
largest river on the island, which is 134 miles long, and 
flows into the sea from the east coast at Trincomalie. 
Along the banks of the latter stream, beside which extend 
plantations of sugar-cane, the train brought us in a quarter 
of an hour to Paredenia, the last station before Kandy. 
When, at eleven o'clock, I arrived at Paredenia I found Dr. 
Trimen awaiting me; after a cordial welcome he drove me 
in his carriage to the Botanic Garden, a mile distant from 
the railway station. Just before reaching the Garden, we 
crossed the foaming river on a beautiful bridge of satin- 
wood, with a single span of two hundred feet. When the 
water is at its usual level, the highest point of this span is 
seventy feet above the river; and some idea may be formed 
of the enormous bulk of water that, surcharges the rivers 
of Ceylon after a heavy rain, when one learns that during 
these periods the bridge is but from ten to twenty feet 
above the flood — the water having risen from fifty to sixty 
feet. 

The entrance to the garden is through an avenue of 
noble india-rubber trees (Mcus elastica). This is the tree 
whose inspissated milk-sap forms the caoutchouc of com- 
merce, and whose young plants are frequently seen in the 
greenhouses of our rugged north. While these india-rub- 
ber plants with us are objects of admiration when their 
slender stems grow to the height of the ceiling, and their 
few branches bear from fifty to one hundred leathery, egg- 
shaped leaves, here in their hot mother-country they de- 
velop into gigantic trees of the highest rank, and rival our 
proudest European oaks. The immense crown of many 
thousands of leaves covers with its mighty branches (40- 
50 feet long) the superficial surface of a stately palace, 
while from the base of the thick trunk extends a net-work 
of roots that frequently measures from one hundred to two 
hundred feet in diameter — far more than the height of the 
tree itself. This astounding root-crown consists mostly of 
twenty or thirty main roots, from each of which branch as 
many more — all of them curving and twisting over the 
ground like so many gigantic sei^ents, for which reason 
the Singhalese call it the " snake- tree," and poets at vari- 
ous times have likened it to the snake-entwined Laocoon. 
The spaces between the roots form veritable closets or sen- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 79 

try boxes, in some of which a man standing upright may 
effectually conceal himself. Similar root-columns are de- 
veloped by other large trees of different orders. 

Scarcely had I expressed my admiration for this avenue 
of snake-trees, when my eyes were enchained by another 
wonderful sight near the garden gate. There, as if to 
greet the new-comer, stood a huge bouquet of palms, com- 
posed of those species indigenous to the island, and a num- 
ber of foreign representatives of this noblest of tropical 
families; garlands of lovely creepers festooned their crowns, 
while their stems were ornamented with the most exquisite 
parasitic ferns. A similar but handsomer and more ex- 
tensive group stands near the end of the main alley, and 
is encircled by a lovely wreath of flowering plants. Here 
the alley branched, the path on the left leading to a slight 
eminence on which stands the bungalow of the director. 
This enviable home is, like most Ceylonese villas, a low, 
one-storied structure, encircled by an airy veranda whose 
wide, projecting roof is supported by a row of white pil- 
lars. Eoof and pillars are adorned with luxurious vines, 
large-flowered orchids, odorous vanilla, showy fuchsias, 
and other bright flowers; choice collections of flowering 
plants and ferns embellish the garden beds which surround 
the house, and above them rise the shade-dispensing crowns 
of India's noblest trees. Numerous gorgeous butterflies 
and beetles, lizards and birds animate this charming pic- 
ture. 

As the villa stands on the highest eminence in the gar- 
den, and the broad, velvety lawn slopes away from it on 
every side, the view from the veranda embraces a large por- 
tion of the garden with several of its most attractive tree- 
groups, and the belt of tall forest trees which encloses the 
meadow land. Beyond them rise the wooded summits of 
the mountain chain which encircles Paredenia valley. 

The Mahawelli-ganga flows in a wide, semi-circular 
sweep around the garden, and separates it from yonder 
chain of hills; consequently it lies on a horseshoe-shaped 
peninsula whose land side, where it adjoins the Kandyan 
valley, is effectually protected by a tall, impenetrable hedge 
of bamboo, thorny rattan, and other equally formidable 
plants. As the climate (at 1500 feet above sea level) is 
extraordinarily favorable, and the tropical heat of the shel- 



80 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

tered valley, in conjunction with the copious rains which 
fall in the neighboring mountains, transform the Paredenia 
G-arden into a natural forcing-house, it will be readily un- 
derstood that the tropical flora here develops her wonderful 
productive power in the highest degree. My first ramble 
through the garden, in company with the well-informed 
director, convinced me that this was indeed the case; and 
although I had read and heard so much about the wonder- 
ful attractions of the exuberant tropical vegetation, had 
longed for so many years to behold it with my own eyes, 
the actual reality, the actual enjoyment of the fabled 
glories, far surpassed my highest expectations, and that, 
too, after I had been prepared by what I had seen in Bom- 
bay and Colombo. In the four days I spent at Paredenia 
I gained more information concerning the life and habits 
of the plant world than I could have acquired' at home in 
as many months by the most diligent botanical study. 
And when, two months later, I returned to the garden for 
a farewell visit, my delight was as great as when I first 
beheld its manifold attractions. I cannot adequately ex- 
press my gratitude for the courteous hospitality and wealth 
of information I received from my good friend, Dr. Trimen; 
the seven days in his enchanting bungalow were, for me, 
seven veritable days of creation! 

At the time of my visit in Paredenia there was also an- 
other English botanist there — Dr. Marshall Ward — who 
had finished his studies in German} 7 , and whose official 
title was " Koyal Cryptogamist." He had been sent here 
by the English Government to investigate the " coffee-leaf 
disease" — the formidable fungus disease of the leaves of 
the coffee tree, which for years has been ravaging with in- 
creasing violence on the coffee plantations, destroying large 
numbers of this most valuable plant, and a most profitable 
source of revenue to the national treasury. Dr. Ward has 
made a number of important observations and experimental 
investigations of the disease, and has fully elaborated the 
natural history of the microscopic, rust-like fungus (Hemi- 
leja v'astatrix); but he was unfortunately unable to dis- 
cover a radical cure for it. In gratitude for his wearisome 
labors he is sharply assailed by the press — especially by 
many of the coffee planters! As if the hundreds of natu- 
ralists in Europe, who are engaged in studying similar 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 81 

p ungus epidemics, always succeeded in finding a remedy for 
t disease directly they became familiar with its character! 
Such is rarely the case; and among the many absurd opin- 
ions which are daily promulgated in our "cultured cir- 
cles/' certainly one of the most absurd is that "for every 
disease there must be a remedy." The experienced physi- 
cian and naturalist, who is familiar with the actual facts, 
knows that this is of rarest occurrence, and is disposed 
rather to wonder that a radical remedy exists for certain 
diseases — as, for instance, cinchona for fever. 

It would only weary the indulgent reader, were I to 
vainly attempt, without the aid of illustrations, to intro- 
duce him to the botanical Eden of Paredenia. Nor would 
the numerous water-color sketches and drawings I made 
while there materially assist me. I shall therefore restrict 
myself to a few general observations, and the notice of 
several of the most important plant-forms. Vastly unlike 
most of the botanic gardens of Europe, whose stiff rows of 
beds remind one of files of soldiers, the Paredenia garden 
(150 acres) is arranged with regard to aesthetic effect as 
well as for the systematic classification of the plants. The 
principal tree-groups, and plants of kindred species, are 
tastefully distributed over grassy lawns, with pleasant paths 
leading from one to the other. In a more retired part of 
the garden are the less attractive beds for the cultivation of 
useful plants. Almost all of the useful plants of the torrid 
zone (of both hemispheres) are here represented; seeds, 
scions, and fruits of many of them are annually distributed 
among the planters and gardeners on the island. Thus 
the garden is not only an experimental station and accli- 
matization garden, but it has for years conferred important 
{practical benefits on the colonists. 

The singularly favorable climatic and topographical con- 
ditions under which the garden flourishes would also ad- 
mirably adapt it to the purely scientific experiments of a 
botanic station. In a like manner, as our young zoologists 
are able to prosecute their scientific studies in the lately 
established zoological stations along the sea-coast (at Naples, 
Roscoff, Brighton, Triest, etc.), so the student of botany 
might in one year learn more in the botanic station of 
Paredenia than he could possibly accomplish in ten at 
aome. As yet the tropical zone, the richest in material 



82 INDIA AND CEYLON 

for botanical study, contains no such institution. If the 
English Government were to establish and support a botanic 
station at Paredenia, and a zoological station at Galle (for 
instance, in Captain Bayley's charming and admirably 
adapted bungalow), she would add to the important ser- 
vices she has already rendered to science by the Challenger 
expedition and other similar scientific undertakings; she 
would again shame the continental states of Europe that 
have no money to expend for anything but breech-loaders 
and cannon ! 

If, among the many wonders in Paredenia Garden only 
a few are to be briefly noticed, then I shall begin with the 
celebrated giant bamboos, the astonishment and admira- 
tion of every visitor. Eambling from the entrance gate 
towards the river and along its lovely bank, we see, while 
still at a distance, huge green bushes over one hundred 
feet high, and as many broad, which spread their plumed 
heads — like the feather brushes of giants — high above 
the river and the road, casting delightful shadow over 
both. Approaching nearer we see that this stupendous 
mass of verdure is composed of numerous (from 80 to 100) 
slender stems from one to two feet thick, which have 
sprang from a common root, and bear, on delicate, nodding 
branches, dense clusters of the daintiest leaves. And these 
gigantic trees are nothing but grasses! Like all grass 
stalks these prodigious tubes are jointed; but the sheath 
which, in the delicate species, is a thin, small scale at the 
base of the leaf, is, in this bamboo giant, a firm woody 
partition that, without further preparation, might serve as 
a shield for the breast of a vigorous man. A child of three 
years might hide in one of the joints! As is well known, 
the bamboo belongs to the useful plants of the tropics; but 
to fully describe the manifold uses to which these tree- 
grasses — as well as the palms — are turned to account by the 
natives would fill a whole volume. 

Next to the bamboos — or, indeed, before them — come 
the palms. Beside the orders indigenous to the island, 
we find here a number of palms that are natives of the 
mainland of India, the Sunda Islands, Australia, and trop- 
ical America — as, for instance, the Livistonia cliinensis, 
with its huge crown of fan-shaped leaves; the celebrated 
Lodoicea from the Seychelles, with its colossal fans; the 






INDIA AND CEYLON. 83 

Ulceis, or oil-palm of Guinea, with its long, plume-like 
f foliage; the famous Mauritia from Brazil; the lofty Oreo- 
ooxa, or king's-palm, from Havana, etc. Of the latter I 
admired and sketched, on Teneriffe (1866), a splendid 
specimen, and was therefore not a little surprised and de- 
lighted to behold here a whole avenue of the stately trees. 
No less interesting were splendid groups of thorny climb- 
ing palms or rattans (calamus) with delicate, vibrating 
leaves; their slender but firm and elastic steins climb to 
the tops of the highest trees, often attaining a length of 
three or four hundred feet. They belong to the longest 
of all plants. 

But one must pay a penalty for wandering among palms. 
While rambling through the tall grass on the river bank, 
beneath the giant crown of an oil-palm, my fascinated gaze 
following the windings of an ambitious rattan, I suddenly 
felt several sharp stings on my leg; an examination revealed 
a pair of diminutive leeches that had attached themselves 
to me, while half a dozen or more of their fellows were 
nimbly ascending the leg of my boot. This was my first 
introduction to the notorious land-leech of Ceylon, the 
most annoying of all the numerous plagues on this beauti- 
ful island. This species (Rirudo ceylonica) belongs to the 
smallest, as well as the most disagreeable of the genera. 
With the excejotion of the sea-coast and the higher moun- 
tain country, they are found in the greatest profusion 
everywhere on the island — especially on the banks of the 
rivers and in the damp jungles of the lowland hills, where 
one cannot take a step without being attacked by them. 
They not only creep along the ground, but infest the 
bushes and trees, from whence they drop on the unsuspect- 
ing passer-by; they will even make a sudden jump to reach 
their prey. When fully distended the land-leech is as large 
as the smaller medicinal leeches; before his feast, however, 
he is about half an inch in length, scarcely thicker than a 
thread, and penetrates the heaviest stocking w T ith amazing 
rapidity. Frequently their sting is immediately felt, and 
very often not. Once, in an evening company, I was made 
aware of their presence only when I saw the blood trick- 
ling down the leg of my white pantaloons. 

To prevent an attack from these pests a drop of lemon 
juice is sufficient, for which reason a small lemon is always 



84 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

carried in tbe pocket when rambling in the lowlands. In- 
stead of this remedy, however, I made use of carbolic acid, 
or alcohol, both of which I always carried with me on my 
collecting tours. The effects of their sting are very differ- 
ent. Persons with sensitive skins (to which class I unfor- 
tunately belong) suffer for several days from an annoying 
irritation, and not infrequently the wound is attended by 
more or less painful inflammation. As the leeches prefer 
these tender, inflamed parts, the wounds very frequently 
become quite serious. When the English, in 1815, con- 
quered Kandy, and the troops were obliged for weeks to 
force their way through the jungles, many soldiers were 
lost by the incessant attacks of these minute leech foes. In 
the regions where they are most numerous, the Europeans 
are obliged to wear leech-gaiters made of rubber or closely 
woven cloth, which are drawn over the boot and fastened 
around the knee. Always when starting for the jungle I 
took the precaution to smear a streak of carbolic acid 
around the tops of my hunting boots. In some parts of the 
island these leeches, by their enormous number, render — as 
-do the ticks {Ixodes) in other parts — a stay of any length 
almost impossible. Another diminutive plague in the gar- 
den of Paredenia (as in all watered regions on the island) 
is the musquito and stinging fly; musquito nets for the 
bed-chambers are an absolute necessity. But far more 
dangerous than these insects, which are only troublesome 
pests, are the poisonous scorpions and millepeds of which 
I secured some splendid examples. 

One of the most attractive parts of Paredenia is the fern 
garden. In the dense shade of tall trees along the cool 
banks of a murmuring brook is assembled a company of 
small and large, delicate and vigorous, herbaceous and 
arboreous ferns, such as it would be impossible to im- 
agine any more charming and agreeable. The entire 
charm of form which distinguishes the dainty feathery 
foliage of our native ferns is here displayed in an endless 
variety of different species, from the simplest to the most 
complex; and while some of the pretty little dwarf ferns 
might easily be confounded with dainty mosses, the giant 
tree-ferns, whose slim, black stems bear a lovely crown of 
feathery leaves, attain the proud height of the palm. 

Like the ferns, the fern-palms, or Cycadece, as well as the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 85 

dainty selaginella and lycopodia families, are represented in 
ffaredenia by choice collections of the most interesting 
species, from the most minute, moss-like forms to the 
robust shrub sorts that almost remind one of the extinct 
tree-lycopodia of the stone-coal period. Indeed, many 
plant-groups in this garden recall to mind the fossil flora so 
admirably portrayed by Unger in his views from an antidi- 
luvinn world. 

If, in conclusion, but two more plant orders, which are 
of peculiar interest to me, are to be introduced to your 
notice, then the first shall be the lianas, and the second the 
banyans. Although creeping and climbing plants are 
abundant everywhere on the island, the Paredenia Garden 
contains several splendid examples, the like of which are 
rarely found; for instance, colossal vines of the Vitis, Cissus, 
Puriada, Bignoma, Ficus, etc. Also the banyans, and 
several kindred fig trees (Ficus galaxifera, etc.), are the 
finest, most magnificent tree-forms I saw on Ceylon. 

A very remarkable sight was presented by one of these 
ancient banyan trees, whose mighty crown rested on numer- 
ous root-columns; it was almost entirely denuded of foliage, 
but large numbers of what seemed to be a monstrous Drown 
fruit hung from the bare branches. Imagine my astonish- 
ment when, on approaching the tree, several of these 
"fruits" suddenly took wing and flew away! They were 
flying foxes (Pteropus), of that remarkable group of fru- 
givorous bats which is confined to the tropical zone of the 
old world (Asia and Africa). Several cleverly-aimed shots 
brought half a dozen to the ground, whereupon the rest of 
the flock (several hundred) flew loudly screaming away. 
Those of the fallen that had only been wounded vigorously 
defended themselves with their sharp teeth and claws, and 
it was only after considerable difficulty that I succeeded — 
with the aid of my hunting knife — in conquering them. 
These " flying foxes" are, in shape — especially the head — size, 
and color very similar to the fox. But the limbs, like those 
of all other bats, are connected by a tough wing-membrane 
that enables them to fly very swiftly. Their motion is very 
different from that of our northern bats; it is more like the 
flight of a crow. They feed on fruits, and are therefore 
very destructive. They are particularly fond of the sweet 
palm wine, and are often found by the natives in a tipsy 



86 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

condition in the sap vessels hanging on the palms. This 
propensity sufficiently explains the near consanguinity 
which the phylo-genetic genealogy of the mammalia estab- 
lishes between them and the apes — likewise man! 

In the sorrel-hued fur of the flying fox I found large 
parasitic insects (Nycterihia) of peculiar, spider-like form, 
belonging to the Pupipara group. These insects — like the 
fleas — are Diptera, or flies, which, in consequence of parasitic 
habits, haye ceased to fly, and through disuse of their 
wings have eventually become wingless insects. However, 
they can travel with surprising activity over the bodies of 
their hosts — also over my hand, as I found when I tried to 
capture some of them. Several particularly nimble fellows 
disappeared up my sleeve and buried their sharp claws in 
my flesh. 

That same day I made another interesting but danger- 
ous zoological acquaintance. While engaged, during a rain 
storm in the afternoon, in imprisoning a gigantic black 
myriapod in a spirit'bottle, a large hooded snake, the 
dreaded Cobra di capello (Naja tripudians), crept through 
the open garden door into my bedroom. I had not noticed 
him, although he was scarcely a foot away from me, and 
became aware of his presence only when my servant dashed, 
excitedly shrieking " Cobra! cobra!" into the room. With 
the native's assistance I soon mastered the poisonous mon- 
ster (he was over a metre in length), and he now occupies 
a spirit bottle in company with a remarkable snake-like 
amphibia, Ccecilia, I found a few days before. 



VII. 

Kakdt. 

Amokg the few cities Ceylon can boast Kandy, although 
it can scarcely be called a city, enjoys a distinct and sepa- 
rate reputation; partly from its being the capital of the 
central province, partly because it was once the residence 
of the native Kandyan kings, and partly because an ancient 
temple in its precincts contains the "sacred tooth" of Bud- 
dha, one of the most celebrated relics of this religion. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 87 

In addition to these attractions I had read in Sir Emerson 
Tennent's excellent work on Ceylon, a glowing description 
of Kandy's incomparably beautiful situation and environs — 
enthusiastic praise that was echoed by later travelers who, 
in their descriptions, usually imitated Sir Emerson. Con- 
sequently, the expectations with which I set out from Pare- 
denia on the morning of the 6th of December for the three 
miles distant Kandy were by no means small. 

So often in my travels I have found that the world-famed 
places, which it is the " fashion" to visit, and whose praise 
every tourist feels it incumbent upon himself to repeat, 
were, in fact, scarcely worth visiting; while frequently there 
would be in close juxtaposition really charming neighbor- 
hoods which were wholly ignored by the tourist because they 
were not mentioned in the " guide-books." This was again 
my experience in Ceylon with the far-famed city of Kandy, 
and I shall, without farther preamble, at once confess that 
my visit here was, from beginning to end, a huge disap- 
pointment. 

The "proud regal city" might better pose as an " unpre- 
tending village," whose few streets contain more Singhalese 
earth-huts than European bungalows, and' these dwellings 
are not even divided — as in Colombo, Galle, Matura, and 
other cities on the island — into a "white town," or fort, 
and a "black town," oy pettah. Two long parallel streets 
are crossed at right angles by a few smaller ones; the 
"lovely lake" which lies in front of the city, and which is 
extolled as a peculiar embellishment, is a small artificial 
pond of rectangular shape, whose banks are flanked by 
perfectly straight rows of trees. If, therefore, you rise 
above the little valley which contains Kandy and its lake, 
and ascend one of the numerous artificial " walks" to the 
summit of one of the surrounding hills, the view is exces- 
sively stiff and artificial, and anything but picturesque. It 
is further disfigured by a large, lately-built prison, with 
high bare walls, that is much too large and massive for the 
proportions of its surroundings. Nor were the partly-cul- 
tivated, partly-wooded hills which encircle the valley, and 
above which rise several taller ranges, specially attractive, 
either in beauty of outline or picturesque grouping. Tllis 
will explain why the sketch-book I took with me to Kandy 
with the best of intentions remained blank; I was unable 



88 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

to find a single point that was worth perpetuating in water- 
colors. 

Kandy's principal beauty — to my taste at least — is the 
lovely garden which surrounds the modern palace of the 
governor. It is tastefully laid out on the slope of a hill, 
and contains, in addition to a great many fine trees, a num- 
ber of ornamental plants. But it is not to be compared 
with the Paredenia G-arden. The palace itself, in which, 
invited by the governor, I spent a very pleasant evening, 
contains but a few large airy apartments; they are ele- 
gantly furnished, and open on the veranda. Multitudes of 
snakes, scorpions, and other tropical vermin are said to ren- 
der a sojourn here anything but agreeable and comfortable. 

The so-called "palace" of the ancient Kandyan kings 
stands on the banks of the lake, and is a low, gloomy-look- 
ing structure whose dark, musty interior contains nothing 
of special interest except the dense masses of fungi, and 
other cryptogams, which completely cover the thick damp 
walls inside and out. Near by is the " Royal Audience 
Hall," supported by carved pillars; it is used at present as 
the district court-house. 

Nor does the celebrated " Buddha Temple of Kandy," 
which, together with the ancient palace, is enclosed by a 
high wall and surrounded by a moat, fulfil the expecta- 
tions naturally aroused by its wonderful reputation. It is 
of inconsiderable dimensions, badly preserved, and without 
any artistic merit whatever. The primitive wall paintings, 
as well as the carved ornaments of wood and ivory, are the 
same as those in other Buddhist temples. As Kandy was 
not elevated to the dignity of a regal residence until towards 
the close of the 16 th century, and the palace, as well as the 
temple, were not built until 1600, the city cannot claim 
even the charm of great antiquity. Very little real interest 
is connected with the famous " sacred tooth," which is kept 
under a silver bell in an octagon tower of the temple. 
Although this tooth has, for more than two thousand years, 
been devoutly worshipped by many millions of superstitious 
people, and although it plays an important part in the his- 
tory of Ceylon, it is, after all, but a simple, rudely-carved 
pie*ce of ivory, about two inches long and one thick. There 
is a " true Buddha tooth" in several localities, but this does 
not impair the sanctity of any one of them. 



INDIA AND CEYLON 89 

In company with my two botanical friends, Drs. Trimen 
nd Ward, I paid a visit to "Fairyland/ 5 the residence of 
Or. Thwaites, the former director of the Paredenia Botanic 
Garden. His enchanting bungalow is quite hidden in a 
ravine among the mountains, about eight miles south of 
Kandy, and is surrounded by cotfee plantations. 

Dr. Thwaites is the meritorious author of a work on the 
flora of Ceylon that appeared in London (1864) under the 
title of Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylanica. In it he describes 
upward of three thousand phsenogamic plants indigenous 
to the island, one thirtieth part of all the plants then 
known on the globe. Since then, however, many new ones 
have been discovered, and, according to the estimate of Dr. 
Gardner, there are in Ceylon nearly 5000 species, a consider- 
ably larger number than all Germany can produce. The 
Flora of Ceylon which I had brought with me, formerly 
belonged to a German botanist named Nietner. He came 
to Ceylon a young gardener, had by thrift and industry 
become the owner of a valuable coffee plantation, and had, 
for a quarter of a century, taken an active interest in the 
natural history of the island, and discovered a number of 
new insects. He died, unfortunately, before he could re- 
turn to his native land. His widow, who lives in Potsdam, 
and who, before I sailed for India, gave me some valuable 
information and advice, presented me with several of her 
husband's books, among them a copy of Dr. Thwaites's 
Flora that had been presented to Mr. Nietner by the author 
himself. The worthy old gentleman was greatly pleased 
when I showed him the book. It was doubtless the first 
copy of his work that had been carried from Ceylon to 
Europe by a botanist and back again by a zoologist. 



VIII. 

The Galle-Colombo Road. 

My first two weeks in Ce}don passed in continual sight- 
seeing and wonderment like a dream. 

In Colombo I had become acquainted with the most im- 
portant characteristics of the Singhalese human and natural 
worlds, had admired in Paredenia the astounding produc- 



90 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

tive power of the tropical flora. It was now time to think 
of the scientific motive of my journey, the investigation of 
the multiform and, to some extent, unknown Indian ma- 
rine animals. 

I was particularly anxious to resume, on the shores of 
Ceylon, the study of those animal classes in which I have 
been interested for a number of years, such as mollusks, 
radiolarians, sponges, corals, medusae, and siphonophora, 
for I expected to find here entirely new forms, developed 
under the influence of the tropical sun and the Indian con- 
ditions of life. 

The conditions under which these marine animals attain 
their highest development are manifold and peculiar; and 
it is by no means immaterial what part of the coast we se- 
lect for their investigation. The perfect development of 
the marine fauna depends not only on the quality of the 
sea-water — its saltness, purity, temperature, current, and 
depth, but also (and frequently to a considerable extent) 
on the configuration of the contiguous shore, whether 
it be rocky or sandy, calcareous or slaty, whether fer- 
tile or barren. Again, the existence of certain groups is 
favored, or hindered, by the quantity of fresh water that 
flows into the ocean, and by the force of the surf on the 
shore. For th e development of those divis ions of swimming 
animals in which I am specially interested — radiolarians, 
medusae, and siphonophera — the most favorable regions 
are the deep land-locked bays with clear, still water, shel- 
tered by rocky projections, undisturbed by large volumes 
of fresh water, and supplied with currents that lead the 
pelagic fauna into them. To favorable conditions like 
these the harbor of Messina, the Gulf of Naples, and Bay 
of Villafranca, in the Mediterranean, owe the reputation 
they have won in the last decade among zoologists. 

A glance at the map of India will show that such shel- 
tered bays are of rarer occurrence along its coast than along 
the dented shores of our matchless Mediterranean. On the 
coast of Ceylon there are but three such bays: the pictur- 
esque harbors of Galle and Belligam on the south-west 
coast; and the celebrated island-adorned Gulf of Trin- 
comalie on the north- west coast. The latter was declared 
by Nelson one of the finest harbors in the world. The 
English Government, which is quick to see and improve 'the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 91 

natural advantages of her possessions, lost no time after the 
acquisition of Ceylon in fortifying Trincomalie. The 
Dutch had already erected forts onetich of the two tongues 
of land projecting into the harbor: Fort Frederick on the 
northernmost, and Fort Ostenhurg on the southern. These 
were enlarged and strengthened by the English, and many 
other improvements made in the little town. But much 
still remains to be done, especially when it is remembered 
that Trincomalie is the most important harbor of defence" 
in all British India. In the struggle for the possession of 
India, in which the British empire will, sooner or later, 
have to participate, this fortified harbor will, as may easily 
be seen, play an important part. 

The harbor of Trincomalie, distinguished not only for its 
size and depth, but for its picturesque shores and numer- 
ous wooded islands which guard its entrance, leads one 
from the very first to expect a peculiarly rich development 
of marine animal life. And, indeed, many groups of sea- 
creatures, particularly those that frequent a rocky bottom 
(mollusks and echinoderm^) here seem to unfold a larger 
number of different sorts than most points along the coast. 
It is specially famous for its wealth of conchylia: beauti- 
fully tinted snails, and delicately fashioned mussels. Several 
zoologists who have visited Trincomalie have discovered 
some entirely new animal forms. It was, therefore, natural 
that I should turn my attention to this point in preference 
to all others, and conclude to fish at least a month among 
its productive waters. But, when it came to carrying out 
my plans, insurmountable difficulties presented themselves. 
Communication between Trincomalie and the rest of the 
larger towns on the island is still very imperfect, and leaves 
much to be desired, by water as well as by land. As yet, 
nothing has been done toward the projected railway between 
Kandy and Trincomalie. As the former city lies almost 
midway between the west and east coasts, and has for years 
been connected by rail with Colombo, the continuation of 
the line to the east coast would seem almost a necessity, 
especially when we consider the strategic importance of 
Trincomalie and the superiority of her harbor, which, in a 
commercial sense, is but little used. At present the jour- 
ney from Kandy to Trincomalie, is over a wretched road 
that for days leads through uninhabited forests. At the 



92 INDIA AND CEYLON 

time I thought of making the journey, in the beginning of 
December, the condition of the road was particularly unin- 
viting ; the heavy rains of the south-west monsoon had 
swept away several bridges, and rendered long stretches of 
the road almost impassable. I was afraid the bullock carts 
on which my sixteen chests of instruments, etc., would 
have to be transported to Trincomalie, would either stick 
fast in the mud, or reach their destination under great 
difficulties in a damaged condition. The prospects by sea 
were no brighter. The little government coast-steamer, 
the Serendib, which makes semi-monthly trips around 
the island, forms the only regular and direct communica- 
tion between the principal points on the coast; the sailing 
vessels plying between these ports are neither safe nor re- 
liable. As ill luck would have it, just at the time I wanted 
to engage passage on the Serendib for Trincomalie she 
was damaged in a storm, and towed to Bombay for repairs. 
Consequently I was forced to postpone my visit, and later, 
further hindrances compelled me, much to my regret, to 
renounce the plan altogether. 

There was now nothing left for me to do but to seek the 
south-west coast, and set up my zoological laboratory either 
at Galle or Belligam. Galle, or Point de Galle, the most 
prominent seaport on the island, which, until within a few 
years, was the principal station for all the Indian vessels, 
and the usual place of debarkation for European travelers, 
offered me the advantages of European civilization, facili- 
ties for procuring what I might require, and constant in- 
tercourse with cultured English residents. I might there 
count to a certainty on fishing in a large, beautiful harbor 
from European boats, on finding among the celebrated 
coral banks a wealth of interesting sea animals, and on 
examining and preserving them with proportionate ease and 
convenience. There were still other advantages: other zo- 
ologists had visited Galle before me, and by their discoveries 
had facilitated my acquaintance with its locality and animal 
life. Kansonnet's handsome book in particular, contains a 
number of important observations on the Galle coral banks. 
Very different conditions awaited me at Belligam. True, the 
lovely sheltered bay at this place, fifteen miles south of 
Galle (half way between the latter port and Matura, the 
most southerly point of the island), could boast of coral 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 93 

banks and other topographical and zoological conditions 
very similar to those of Galle, and it had besides, owing to 
its being rarely visited or explored, the great charm of 
novelty, and of being comparatively unknown. From what 
I had heard, Belli gam surpassed Galle in beauty of scenery 
and exuberant vegetation. But what charmed me even 
more than this was, that in the former place I might for 
several months throw ofi 2 the conventionalities and unnat- 
uralness of our civilized world, and, in the midst of tropi- 
cal nature's wanton luxuriance, for once yield myself to the 
full enjoyment of its beauties. Here, surrounded by a 
simple, uncultured people, I might hope to gain an idea of 
the imaginary paradisal condition of our primitive ances- 
tors. For Belligam is in reality nothing but a large, 
purely Cejdonese village, inhabited by fishermen, shepherds, 
and tillers of the soil; its four thousand chocolate-hued 
inhabitants, among whom there is not a single European, 
live partly along the picturesque shores of the bay, and 
partly on a lovely level stretch of cocoa-forest that verges 
on the shore. In Belligam' s secluded rest-house I might 
hope to accomplish more work, and with more coherence 
and dispatch than in sociable Galle, surrounded by many 
kindly-disposed friends and inquisitive acquaintances. 

After maturely considering its advantages and disadvan- 
tages, I at last decided in favor of Belligam, and had no 
reason afterwards to regret my choice. The six most fruit- 
ful weeks I spent there will ever remain a memorable 
period; they form one of the choicest flower- groups in the 
garland of my Indian reminiscences. I might have found 
Galle more convenient for my special zoological study, but, 
for a general view of nature and of nature's people Belli- 
gam was the better place. 

Naturally there were numerous preparations to be made 
for a protracted sojourn in this isolated fishing- village. As 
lodgings were to be had only in the government rest-house, 
and the traveler's stay in these substitutes for hotels is re- 
stricted to three days, it was necessary to obtain permission 
to occupy the rest-house at Belligam for several months. 
The governor of Ceylon, Sir James Longdon, to whom I 
brought letters from the English Government (and to 
whom I am indebted for many courtesies), furnished me 
with letters to the president of the south province. In them 



94 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

not only the desired permission was granted, but several 
government officials were ordered to render me any service 
I might require. With the exemplary order and discipline 
which attends the governmental mechanism in the English 
colonies, as well as in the mother-country, an official docu- 
ment like this is at times an indispensable talisman. Es- 
pecially is this the case in Ceylon, as the island is entirely 
independent of the Indian Government, and under the im- 
mediate jurisdiction of the colonial administration in Lon- 
don; the governor of the island is a sort of absolute mon- 
arch, and pays very little heed to the deliberations of his 
legislative council. To this despotic form of government, 
which is extremely distasteful to the constitutional English- 
man, are attributed most of the defects attendant upon the 
administration of the beautiful island. One of the greatest 
of these is that the governor's term of office (four years) is 
entirely too short, scarcely long enough for him to become 
thoroughly acquainted with his domain. With a popula- 
tion of two millions and a half, among whom are only three 
thousand Europeans, the concentration of administrative 
power in one hand seems to be the most advantageous form 
of government. At all events, upon closer examination of 
the matter, I came to the conclusion that here, as in most 
of her colonies, England, with her usual practical sense, 
had selected what was best, and that the government of 
Ceylon was conducted with more circumspection and better 
judgment than would be the case were the island under the 
jurisdiction of almost any other civilized nation. 

After providing myself with more introductory letters 
from G-alle, and purchasing the necessary articles for a 
longer sojourn in Belligam, I loaded my sixteen chests on 
a large, two- wheeled bullock cart that was to carry the in 
inside of eight days to Galle. These bullock carts are the 
only means for transporting freight on the public roads in 
Ceylon. The largest carts will carry on their two powerful 
wheels a load of forty hundred weight, and are drawn by 
four strong humped oxen or zebus of the largest species. 
The yoke is simply laid across the necks of the auimals in 
front of the hump; the cart is covered by a barrel-shaped 
roof of plaited cocoa leaves that protects the freight in the 
body of the vehicle from the deluging rain; mats of the 
same material serve as curtains in front and at the back. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 95 

The load is carefully adjusted oyer the wheels so that the 
centre of gravity rests directly over the axle. The driver 
sits in .front on the pole immediately behind the bullocks, 
or else he walks between them, and by incessant cries, or 
tugging at their tails, urges the poor beasts into a more 
rapid gait. Hundreds of such carts, some with two > some 
with four zebus, are continually seen on all the public roads. 
Among them may occasionally be seen the swifter little 
" oxen-drosky " or "bullock-bandy," a lighter two-wheeled 
vehicle of similar build, drawn by a pretty, swift-footed 
zebu. 

On the 9th of December I took my departure from hos- 
pitable Whist Bungalow, accompanied by the good wishes 
and judicious counsels of my amiable hosts. The journey 
from Colombo to Galle is a favorite theme in all the de- 
scriptions of Ceylon travel. Until within a few years, all 
the mail steamers landed first at Galle, from whence the 
passengers were transported overland to Colombo; conse- 
quently their first impressions of the island's natural beauty 
were received while traveling along this road, which is, in 
truth, peculiarly rich in natural attractions. The cocoa- 
forest, with its endless succession of charming pictures, ex- 
tends along the entire south-west coast. The road winds, 
now through the shadowy forest, now verges on the sands, 
or the rocks, overhanging the sea, now pierces dense jun- 
gles, or crosses the picturesque bridges which span the 
• numberless streams of the west coast. Formerly the entire 
journey from Colombo to Galle was made in wagons, but a 
railway now takes the place of the old road for about 
one third the distance. It also runs close to the shore, 
traverses the palm-grove in almost a direct line, and termi- 
nates at Caltura. The continuation of the railway from 
this point to Galle, which would be of incalculable advan- 
tage to the latter city, is not sanctioned by the govern- 
ment lest Galle's importance might outrival that of Co- 
lombo, the capital. As intercourse between the two cities 
is very active, and constantly increasing, the commercial 
success of a railway cannot be doubted. Unfortunately the 
disparaging wish to elevate Colombo to the detriment of 
Galle prompts the government to steadily refuse its conces- 
sion, notwithstanding the fact that a company has proved 
its financial ability to complete the line. This is the cause 



96 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

of general complaint all along the Galle-Colombo road. The 
traveler is compelled either to hire a very expensive private 
conveyance, or to trust himself to the mail-coach, which 
makes daily trips between Galle and Oaltura. This is also a 
very expensive mode of travel, and anything but agreeable. 

The mail-coach bears the imposing title of "Koyal mail- 
coach," and proudly displays on its doors the English coat- 
of-arms, " Honi soit qui trial y pense!" — an admonition 
which, considering the condition of the rickety vehicle, 
and the tortured horses furnishing the motive-power, 
sounds like pure irony. The coach, which is scarcely large 
enough to comfortably accommodate six passengers, is fre- 
quently crowded with twice that number, each of the two 
seats inside as well as the one behind occupied by three 
persons, although there is hardly room for two. The most 
desirable places are in front beside the driver. Here one 
may enjoy a view of the surrounding country, and at the 
same time escape the anything but agreeable odors which 
emanate from the perspiring, cocoa-oiled Singhalese pas- 
sengers crowded inside. The fare for the five hours' jour- 
ney is, for each "white" (European) passenger, fifteen 
rupees; the dusky native pays only half as much. 

The most disagreeable feature of this coach ride, as with 
all similar mail-coach journeys in Ceylon, is the horrible 
torture inflicted on the wretched horses. The worthy 
Singhalese seem to be entirely ignorant of the fact that 
driving a horse is an art which has to be acquired, and that 
horses must be trained, or "adapted" to the work required 
of them. They seem, on the contrary, to think that the 
poor beasts are gifted with an intuitive or hereditary knowl- 
edge of how to draw a wagon, for, without previous train- 
ing, they imprison the frightened creatures in clumsy har- 
ness, and then torture them in various ways, until in sheer 
desperation they gallop off. When neither urgent cries 
nor violent blows suffice to make them go, various devices 
of torture are resorted to: the sensitive nostrils are torn 
apart with iron hooks; the tongue is seized with a pair of 
tongs and almost pulled from the throat; the ears are twisted 
around sticks until you think they will be torn from their 
sockets; ropes are fastened to the fore legs, and pulled by 
half a dozen yelping lads, while as many more tug at the 
creature's tail, or beat his legs with clubs. If this is not 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 97 

sufficient to reduce the animal to a state of mad despera- 
tion, a lighted torch is held under his belly. In short, all 
the devices resorted to by the holy Inquisition to convert 
the unbelieving heretic are here practised on these poor 
dumb brutes. Often, when compelled to witness such 
atrocious cruelty., utterly powerless to prevent it, I have 
wondered what heinous crimes the wretched creatures 
were expiating. Who can tell but what kindred im- 
pressions pervaded the crania of our dusky coachman and 
groom? They doubtless are firm believers, in Siva and 
the transmigration of souls, and imagined that by tor- 
turing the mail-coach horses, they avenged the cruelties 
practised on their ancestors by heartless princes and con- 
querors. Either this or a total want of sympathy — per- 
haps too he shares the peculiar belief entertained by many 
Europeans that animals have no feeling— actuates the 
Singhalese, who considers the torture of dumb beasts an 
amusement. In the villages along the road, where the 
horses are changed, the arrival of the mail-coach is the 
most important event of the day, and all the inhabitants 
assemble, partly to inspect and criticise the passengers, 
partly to enjoy the exciting spectacle of changing horses, 
and to take active part in torturing the freshly-harnessed 
beasts. When these are rendered desperate, they dash for- 
ward in a mad gallop that is kept up until failing breath 
reduces them to a more moderate pace. Covered with 
sweat, with foaming lips and quivering limbs, they arrive at 
the next station, where they are relieved for a time by 
their companions in misery. Eor the traveler who trusts 
himself to the rickety coach, this mode of travel is neither 
pleasant nor free from danger. The coach is frequently 
overturned and broken; sometimes the horses take it into 
their heads to dash across the fields, or back into banana 
thickets and ditches, for which reason I was prepared at 
any moment to leap from my elevated seat beside the 
driver. It is difficult to understand why the English Gov- 
ernment, usually so rigid in maintaining order and disci- 
pline, has not long ago prohibited such cruelty to animals, 
and established rules for protecting the poor horses of her 
own " Royal mail-coach." 

Great Buddha, thou that didst seek to mitigate all 
suffering, what a blunder hast thou committed! What a 



98 INDIA AND CEYLON 

benefit to man and beast would it have been hadst thou, 
instead of foolishly interdicting the taking of life, forbid- 
den torture! 

While the former command is strictly obeyed by the 
worshipper of Buddha, he never fails to rejoice when the 
naturalist shoots the apes and flying foxes that steal his 
bananas and mangoes; or when the planter kills the ele- 
phant that tramples down his rice fields, the leopard that 
destroys his goats, and the marten that robs his chicken- 
yard. As a rule the Singhalese repulse the idea of taking 
life, and are very careful not to kill an animal outright. 
For this reason most of the fishermen are Roman Catholics; 
they have renounced the faith of Buddha in order that 
they may pursue their calling, which involves the killing 
of fish. 

The stubborn insubordination shown by the Indian 
horses towards their torturers, and their inclination to make 
unexpected leaps from the road, requires considerable 
dexterity on the part of the coachman. His assistant like- 
wise must be constantly on his guard. The perseverance 
and agility of the latter is really wonderful. Entirely 
naked, with the exception of a cloth around his loins, a 
white turban on his head, and a post-horn around his neck, 
the swarthy fellow (a Tamil) will run for a long distance 
beside the flying coach, tugging now at the right, now at 
the left rein; occasionally swinging himself to the foot- 
board when the horses are going at their greatest speed. 
At the approach of another wagon from the opposite direc- 
tion, or at a sudden turn in the road, he quickly seizes the 
horses' heads and forces them to the proper side. In cross- 
ing the long wooden bridges that span the wider streams, 
he checks the wild career of his steeds, and cautiously leads 
them over the loose, rattling planks. If a child — as fre- 
quently happens — runs into the road, or an old woman ob- 
stinately disputes the right of way with the coach, they are 
unceremoniously pushed aside by the Tamil groom. In 
short, he is constantly on the alert, ready for any emer- 
gency. Although the character of the landscape along the 
entire stretch of seventy miles between Colombo and &alle 
is the same, yet the enchanted eye of the traveler never 
wearies. The never-ending charm of the cocoa-groves, the 
inexhaustible variety of palm-groups, with their alternating 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 99 

pictures of human and animal life, prevent his interest 
from flagging. The piercing heat of the tropical sun rarely 
becomes oppressive, owing to the shade of the groves among 
which he rides and the cool breeze from the ocean. True, 
the feathery foliage of the palms does not cast the dense 
refreshing shade of our northern woods, for the sun's rays 
easily penetrate the plumed crowns; but luxuriant vines 
of all sorts entwine the slender stems, and hang in festoons 
from tree to tree, or swing like graceful chandeliers from 
their branches. 

Many of the climbers are adorned with masses of exqui- 
site bloom, such as naming lilies, azure-hued thunbergias, 
rose-colored bougainvilleas, and the gorgeous butterfly 
blossoms of various papilionaceous creepers. Among the 
palms — which of course predominate — are numerous other 
trees, the noble mango, and the lofty bread-fruit with its 
ponderous crown of dark green leaves. The slim column 
of the graceful papaya (Carica jjapaya) is beautifully 
veined, and crowned by a diadem of spreading palmate 
leaves. Different varieties of jasmine, orange, and lemon 
shrubs are literally covered with fragrant white blossoms. 
Among them nestle the picturesque white or brown huts, 
and the traveler might easily imagine himself riding 
through a long continuous village of palm gardens, were it 
not for an occasional stretch of denser woods, or for the 
rural bazaar which, with its collection of huts, betrays the 
village proper. 

Sometimes the road for a longdistance verges" upon the 
sea-shore, where tracts of yellow yielding sand alternate 
with rocky hillocks; the latter are clothed with grotesque 
pandanus shrubs, or screw-palms. The panclanus (Pan- 
danus odoratissimus) belongs to the most singular char- 
acter plants of the tropics. It is closely allied to the 
palms, and is also called screw-palm, or, more improp- 
erly, screw-pine. The low cylindrical stem, which 
grows from twenty to forty feet high, is twisted, and 
branched like a candelabrum; at the extremity of every 
branch grows a thick tuft of large sword-shaped leaves 
similar to those of the dracaena and the yucca. Some of 
the leaves are a light green, others a much darker hue; 
they are gracefully twisted, and their spiral arrangement 
around the stem gives it the appearance of a perfectly reg- 



100 'INDIA AND CEYLON, 

. ular screw. From the base of every tuft hangg a cluster 
of white, deliciously fragrant flowers, or a large red fruit 
like the anana. But the plant's most remarkable feature 
is the slender adventitious roots, which give it the appear- 
ance of walking on stilts. A clump of pandanus trees offers 
a fantastic sight as the stems rise on their stilts above the 
lower shrubbery, or stalk about over the rocks along the 
shore. 

The white or yellow sand of the beach, which is diversi- 
fied by numerous dark, rocky projections, is animated bj 
multitudes of nimble little sand crabs, whose fleetness has 
won for them the classic title of Ocypode. Also numerous 
hermit-crabs (Pagurus) deliberately wander among their 
swift-footed cousins, dragging after them the snail-houses 
in which they have hidden their soft, sensitive hinder-parts. 
Here and there are sand-pipers, herons, plovers, and other 
shore birds busily engaged in catching fish in successful 
competition with the Singhalese fishermen. The latter 
pursue their calling in groups or singly; if in companies, 
they row out in several canoes, and together drag a large 
net towards the shore. The solitary fisherman prefers to 
snatch his prey from the yeasty surf, and an interesting 
spectacle is afforded by the naked brown forms, protected 
only by broad-brimmed straw hats, dashing fearlessly with 
their hand-nets into the foaming breakers. The refreshing 
bath seems to delight them as much as it does their off- 
spring, who play in swarms along the beach, and, at the age 
of six or eight, are masters of the noble art of swimming. 

Like a binding of lovely satin ribbon the white or golden 
sands stretch for miles along the deeply dented coast, sepa- 
rating the deep blue of the ocean from the pale green of the 
cocoa-forest. The beauty of the shore is enhanced by the 
slender palms that incline their feathered crests towards 
the water as if eager to drink in deep draughts of the in- 
vigorating breeze and radiant sunshine. The ground at 
their feet is profusely decorated with the most beautiful 
strand-flowers, among which three species are particularly 
noticeable : the goat's-foot (Ipomeapcs capri), with its wealth 
of crimson blossoms; an exquisite rose-colored balsam 
(Impatiens), and the imposing trumpet-lily {Pancratium 
ceylonicum); the stately white flowers of the latter, with 
their narrow overhanging petals, grow in clusters on a 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 101 

slender stem six or eight feet high. The huge leaves of the 
calla also furnish adornment for the wayside. When the 
rays of the sun become intolerable, or a sudden shower 
overtakes him, the Singhalese merely plucks a giant cala- 
dium leaf that protects him more effectively than would a 
cotton or silk umbrella, and is, with its delicate traceries, 
certainly more ornamental. Thus, in this sunlit Eden, even 
parasols may be had for the plucking, or, better still, 
" entout cas," for the caladium leaf answers the double 
purpose of umbrella and sunshade. 

Among the many attractions of this beautiful G-alle-Co- 
lombo road, are the numerous deltas which interrupt the 
cocoa-forest, and the extensive lagoons that connect the 
rivers, especially of the northern part of the coast (between 
Colombo and Caltura). The former sovereigns of the isl- 
and, the Dutch, were so delighted with these natural 
water-ways, which reminded them of their native country, 
that they established a regular system of canals, and entirely 
neglected the roads by land. Like the well-known " Treck- 
schuiten" of the Netherlands, numerous freight-boats 
then plied the waters of the coast lagoons, and transacted 
the greater part of the commercial business. Since the 
construction of excellent roads by the English, these lagoons 
are rarely used. However, with the dense groves of bam- 
boo and" palm fringing their banks, with the charming- 
little islands and rock-groups dotting their mirror-like 
surface, they offer to the traveler hastening by a wealth 
of enchanting pictures, especially there, where, above the 
dark green forest mass, are arrayed hosts of slender cocoa- 
palms — as Humboldt aptly expresses it, "a forest above 
the forest." A fitting background is formed by the ranges 
of blue hills in the distance; here and there loom the taller 
summits of the highland mountains, among them the ever 
present, ever conspicuous Peak of Adam. 

The smiling landscape assumes a more serious aspect 
where the larger streams debouch on the sea. Here, the 
sombre mangrove is the most salient feature. The shore 
is densely fringed with these trees, their overarching roots 
forming impenetrable thickets which were formerly inhab- 
ited by crocodiles, but the steady march of civilization has 
driven them to the upper portions of the rivers. The larg- 
est of these rivers is the Kalu-ganga (black river), which, 



102 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

for miles from its mouth, is as wide as the Rhine at Co 
logne. Caltura, the terminus of the railway, is situated at 
its mouth. At the southern extremity of Caltura a mag- 
nificent banyan tree spans the road like a triumphal arch. 
This gigantic fig-tree has sent out its powerful air-roots, 
which have taken root in the opposite side of the road, thus 
forming, with the parent stem, a natural arch that is all 
the more attractive from its parasitic adornments — ferns, 
orchids, and creepers of all sorts, that twine among the 
branches with wanton luxuriance. 

During a later visit to Caltura, I discovered near the 
shore a second plant-wonder; it was an ancient India-rubber 
tree whose reticulated roots formed a veritable labyrinth in 
which swarms of merry children romped and played at hide 
and seek. 

Another attractive point of the Galle- Colombo road is 
the rest-house at Bentotte, at which the passengers of the 
" Royal mail-coach" are allowed to rest, and refresh them- 
selves with breakfast. A peculiar delicacy served at this 
meal are the celebrated oysters of Bentotte, which may 
be had raw, broiled, or pickled. From the rest-house, 
which is picturesquely situated between lofty tamarind 
trees on a hill, there is a fine view of the ocean, and the 
bridge which spans the river. After breakfast I rambled 
down to the bridge, below which some natives were dredg- 
ing for oysters, then through the picturesque bazaars of the 
long village street. The traffic in these bazaars is in as 
perfect accord with their idyllic surroundings as are the 
unpretending huts, and the primitive costumes of their half 
naked inhabitants. Among the most important articles of 
commerce, rice and curry form the most necessary food, 
betel and areca the favorite luxury. These, together with 
other articles of trade, are tastefully spread out on fresh 
banana leaves in the open shops, whose sole entrance an- 
swers the double purpose of door and windows. Alternat- 
ing with heaps of cocoa-nuts are luscious bananas, nutri- 
tious yams, colocasia, etc. Among them are gigantic 
bread-fruits, weighing from fifty to eighty pounds, the 
closely allied jack fruit, delicate mangoes and annonas (the 
custard-apple of the English). While the fragrance of the 
noble fruits exposed for sale in these shops, which are taste- 
fully decorated by their Singhalese proprietors, is pleasant 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 103 

and agreeable, intense odors, which are anything but de- 
lightful, occasionally assail our olfactories; they emanate 
from the heaps of dried sea animals, principally fish and 
crabs; of. the latter, particularly large shrimps — here called 
prawns — are favorite ingredients for the omnipresent " rice 
and curry." 

Disappointment awaits the traveler who expects to find 
in these Ceylonese bazaars the noise and confusion which 
characterize the markets of most peoples, especially those 
of southern Europe. Who, for instance, that is familiar 
with the stir and bustle of the Piazza dell ' Erbe in Verona, 
or the turmoil of Santa Lucia in Naples, would not expect 
to find far more confusion in a tropical bazaar? Such is not 
the case. The sedate, placid temperament of the Singha- 
lese is evident in his commercial relations, when the inter- 
est of both buyer and seller is as trifling as the coin with 
which he buys the most luscious fruits. These coins, by 
the way, are copper pieces, of one and five cents value. 
One hundred of the former, twenty of the latter make a 
rupee; their impress is a cocoa-palm. Although the Sin- 
ghalese is not wholly indifferent to money, he seems to re- 
quire it less than most of mother earth's children, for the 
reason that few of her regions are so lavishly supplied with 
nature's noblest gifts as this fortunate island. As much 
rice as he requires to sustain life may be procured at the 
expense of very little labor; from ten to fifteen cents will 
supply all his daily wants, while the fruits of the earth, 
and the fishes of the sea are so abundant that components 
for a curry, and various other mixtures, are never lacking. 

Then why should the Singhalese embitter his life with 
toil? He is too indolent, or, rather, too philosophical. 
For this reason we see him stretched at his ease in front of 
his primitive habitation, or squatted on the ground lazily 
gossiping with his neighbors. The trifling work his garden 
requires is soon performed, and the remaining time passed 
in play. Even his amusements are anything but exciting; 
the magic spell of rest and quiet seems to have settled on 
these fortunate beings — a condition that is as strange as de- 
lightful to the restless culture-folk of the nineteenth- cen- 
tury. 

Fortunate Singhalese! No care for the morrow or the 
more distant future troubles you. What you require 



104 INDIA AND CEYLON 

for the nourishment of yourself and your children grows 
spontaneously into your very mouth; your luxuries are ob- 
tained by the most trifling exertion. You are indeed like 
the "lilies of the field," that wanton around your simple 
dwelling; you "toil not, neither do you spin," yet are you 
nourished by a providential nature! No political or war- 
like ambition tortures your soul; no disturbing thought of 
competition, or rise and fall of stocks, drives slumber from 
your eyes! Those aspirations of higher culture: titles, or- 
ders, are unknown to you, and yet you rejoice in your 
life! I am almost tempted to believe you do not envy the 
European's thousand-and-one superfluous needs; you are 
content to remain nature's children — content with your 
paradisal existence. How comfortably you lie there, 
dreamily watching the dancing sunlight among the feathery 
plumes of your cocoa canopy; how you enjoy your betel, 
your children's games, yoitr refreshing bath in the river; 
how easily you accomplish your simple toilet! What care- 
burdened civilian would not covet your innocent nature 
and your paradisal rest? 

These and kindred reflections passed through my brain 
while the coach was changing horses at the last station 
before Galle, where groups of indolent natives were enjoy- 
ing life in the shade of the bananas. Here, indeed, the 
"struggle for existence" seemed to have ceased! I was 
roused from my reverie by the two horse-tamers who asked 
me to resume my place on the front seat, the noble Mala- 
bars at the same moment suggesting in broken English, 
that it was time to think of the customary "fee" to the 
coachman and groom, as after the arrival at G-alle they 
would be too busy to properly attend to this momentous 
transaction. I had noticed that an opulent native passen- 
ger on reaching his destination had given each of the men 
a " double-anna" and believed myself sufficiently taxed as 
"white man" if I paid four times that amount. I handed 
to each a shilling, but my gratuity was indignantly rejected 
by both the men, who read me a joint lecture on the impor- 
tance of color that was certainly very complimentary to 
my complexion. The purport of this homily was, that 
every white "gentleman" was expected to bestow at least 
one rupee on each of the men, and that I — who must belong 
to one of the highest castes, by reason of my fair complexion 



INDIA AND CEYL01X. 105 

and light hair — would be expected to pay considerably 
more. Although taxation levied in this manner could not 
fail to tickle my vanity, I was not to be inveigled into pay- 
ing more than the usual "white-tax." I gave each of the 
men a rupee, and had the satisfaction afterwards of hearing 
myself pronounced a "perfect gentleman." When I con- 
sidered the exquisite enjoyment of the delightful five-hours' 
coach ride, I found the exorbitant fare of seventeen florins 
quite reasonable, and was really very sorry, notwithstanding 
the heat and weariness, when the light-tower of Galle came 
in sight. Shortly after, the mail-coach rumbled over the 
drawbridge of the ancient moat, through a long gloomy 
gateway, to the door of the " Oriental Hotel " of Galle. 



IX. 

Pukto Galla. 



Ok a rocky promontory that extends from the west and 
encloses the roomy harbor, stands lovely Punto Galla or 
Point de Galle, from remote antiquity one of the most cele- 
brated and important cities of Ceylon. The definition of 
the Singhalese Galla is "rocks," and bears no relation 
whatever to the Latin gdllus, as the island's first European 
masters, the Portuguese, supposed. An illustration of 
this erroneous interpretation remains to this day on the 
ancient city wall, in the moss-grown stone image of a cock 
with the numerals 1640. 

Galle, according to the testimony of ancient authors, was 
an important • commercial emporium, and probably the 
largest and wealthiest city on the island more than two 
thousand years ago. Here, the eastern and western halves 
of the old world met and clasped hands; here, the Arabian 
navigator who ventured thus far from his Persian Gulf, 
traded with the Malay from the Sunda Archipelago, and 
with the Chinese from the remote East. The Oriental Tar- 
shish of the ancient Phoenician and Hebrew writers must 
have been Galle; the apes and peacocks, the ivory and the 
gold which the navigators of those days brought from far- 
famed Tarshish, were designated by the same terms that 



106 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

are applied to them to-day by the Tamils of Ceylon; while 
the more accurate descriptions of the oft- visited harbor of 
Tarshish can be applied to but one of all Ceylon's harbors 
— to the celebrated " rocky point/' Punto G-alla. 

G-alle's natural advantages and geographical position 
near the southernmost point of Ceylon — under the sixth 
degree of latitude — as well as her climatic and topographi- 
cal conditions, are so obvious that one would naturally 
suppose them all-sufficient to establish her precedence as 
the most important commercial station on the coast. But 
the continual efforts of the British Government to elevate 
Colombo at the expense of Galle, and especially the im- 
proved facilities of communication between Colombo and 
the interior of the island, as well as her nearer proximity 
to the coffee districts, have in late years considerably in- 
jured G-alle. As I remarked before, by far the largest por- 
tion of the island's trade has withdrawn to Colombo, and 
G-alle's beautiful harbor is not what it once was. How- 
ever, Galle still remains the most important seaboard town 
next to Colombo, and especially will she continue to be the 
natural outlet for the rich products of the south province. 
Chief among these are the manifold properties of the co- 
coa-palm: the superior cocoa oil; coir, the stout fibres of 
the cocoanut which is used principally for the manufac- 
ture of cordage; palm sugar, from which arrack is distilled, 
etc. Formerly Galle played an important part in the gem 
traffic, which she still does in the graphite or plumbago 
trade. If the railway were to be completed from Caltura 
to Galle, and the rocks and coral-reefs which render parts 
of the excellent harbor dangerous, were removed with dy- 
namite, then would Punto Galla's vanished prosperity be 
restored and flourish with renewed vigor, i 

The situation of Galle is charming, and it is quite natu- 
ral that in nearly all the earlier descriptions of Ceylon 
travel this point, on which the voyager first debarked, 
should be specially mentioned and extolled. The Euro- 
pean or "white town" — the "fort" — occupies the crest of 
the rocky tongue of land before mentioned, and consists 
of one-storied stone houses, encircled by wide verandas 
which are upheld by rows of pillars, and covered by pro- 
jecting tile roofs. Flourishing gardens add as much to 
the adornment of the city as the broad avenues of shade- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 107 

dispensing suriya (Tliespesia populnea) and hibiscus trees 
(Hibiscus rosa sinensis). The latter here take the place 
of the rose tree; they are covered with crisp, shining green 
foliage and lovely crimson flowers, which the English resi- 
dent prosaically designates " shoe-flowers/' because a de- 
coction of their fruit is used to polish shoes. 

The most conspicuous among the public buildings is the 
Protestant church, a handsome Gothic structure built on 
one of the highest points of the hilly city. Its thick stone 
walls and garland of shade trees render the vaulted interior 
delightfully cool, it was decidedly refreshing when, one 
Sunday forenoon, tired by an extended ramble, I sought 
shelter from the too ardent rays of Helios in this shadowy 
retreat. 

Opposite the church is the "Queen's House," the largest 
edifice in Galle, and formerly the official residence of the 
governor. Here, travelers of rank, or those furnished with 
special commendations, were hospitably entertained by the 
governor; and this, perhaps, is why the government 
building in Galle and its near neighborhood, are usually 
the first points mentioned and admired in the earlier de- 
scriptions of Ceylon travel. Among the German travelers 
who have been entertained here are Messrs. Hoffmeister 
and Ransonnet. Several years ago this "house of the 
Queen" passed into private hands, and is now the property 
of Messrs. Clark, Spence & Co., the largest mercantile 
house in the city. I brought letters of introduction from 
Herr Stipperger to the head of this firm, Mr. Henry Scott, 
by whom I was most cordially received. Two of the ele- 
gant, roomy apartments in the " Queen's House" and a 
breezy veranda were placed at my disposal, and everything 
done to render my sojourn in Galle as pleasant as possible. 

I not only felt at home in Mr. Scott's agreeable family 
circle, but learned to know in him an English merchant 
whose varied attainments eminently fit him for the promi- 
nent positions he occupies. 

At present he represents several European consulates, 
and it is to be regretted that he was not also chosen to be 
Germany's consular representative. The present incum- 
bent of that office in Galle, Mr. Vanderspaar, does not 
speak German, nor does he exhibit the least interest for 
the country he represents. Judging from the reports of 



108 INDIA AND CEYLON 

former travelers I infer that Mr. Vanderspaar's father and 
predecessor in office was distinguished by the same nega- 
tive qualities. On the other hand, Mr. Scott, who spent 
a number of years at school in Germany, speaks the lan- 
guage of that country with great fluency, and entertains a 
high regard for German literature and science. Having 
the good fortune to be considered a representative of the 
latter I enjoyed every advantage Mr. Scott's liberal hospi- 
tality could supply. Such treatment naturally reduced me 
to a state of indecision, whether it would not be wiser to 
accept his generous offer and set up my zoological labora- 
tory for several weeks among the European comforts and 
conveniences of the " Queen's House," and in the midst of 
a pleasant family circle, than in Belligam surrounded by 
semi-savages. 

However, I manfully resisted the allurements of the for- 
mer alternative, and was richly rewarded for it; in Belli- 
gam I obtained a better view of the primitive nature of 
Ceylon and its aboriginal inhabitants than I could have in 
civilized Galle. 

The short time I remained in the latter city, as well as 
the brief visit I paid Mr. Scott on my return from Belli- 
gam, was, by the circumspect aid of that gentleman, so 
profitably spent that, notwithstanding the brevity of the 
period, I obtained an excellent insight into the natural 
beauties around Galle, and the wealth of her magnificent 
coral banks. At any hour I might elect, both of Mr. 
Scott's carriages were at my disposal for an excursion by 
land, and his comfortable boat — manned by three stout 
Malabars — at my command for an expedition by water. 
Besides, Mr. Scott introduced me to several prominent 
English residents who could materially assist me in my 
scientific investigations; to Captains Bayley and Blythe in 
particular I am greatly indebted for numerous favors. 

The first and most convenient promenade after arriving 
in Galle is usually a tour around the fort on the high walls. 
These walls, which were solidly built of brick by the Dutch, 
rise to a considerable elevation above the water; from the 
east wall may be obtained a fine view of the harbor, the 
wooded hills encircling it, and the blue mountain chains 
of the distant highlands. From the south and west walls 
one looks down on the wonderful coral banks that girt the 



INDIA AND CEYLON 109 

jocky promontory on every side. These coral garden? 
-which, at ebb tide, display a large portion of their flowei. 
like animals, are especially beautiful near the light-tower 
.at the south-west corner of the fort. Two ancient gateways 
•whose stone pillars, like the walls, are covered with luxu- 
riant ferns and mosses, lead from the interior of the fort 
into the open. The east gate opens on the quay; the one 
<on the north side opens on the esplanade, a green level 
.stretch that separates the fort from the pettah, or " Black 
Town." The latter comprises the simple habitations and 
bazaars of the natives; part of it extends in an easterly di- 
rection along the mole around the harbor, another section 
.stretches along the shore and the Colombo road. Both 
lose themselves without definite limits among the groups 
.of houses and clusters of huts that are scattered every- 
where in the surrounding cocoa-groves. 

In a beautiful situation on a neighboring hill opposite 
the fort, is the Catholic church, with w r hich are connected 
.a Catholic school and mission. In the director of the lat- 
ter, Padre Palla (the successor of the esteemed Padre Mili- 
,ani — frequently mentioned in former books of travel), I 
found a very agreeable and well-informed gentleman; he is 
& native oi Triest, and was greatly delighted to find me 
.■able to converse with him about that city and Dalmatia in 
Iris beloved Italian mother tongue. The well-kept mission 
garden is, like most of the gardens in the Eden-like envi- 
rons of Galle, rich in the magnificent productions of the 
tropical zone- -wonders that would delight the heart of 
every botan.st and plant friend. 

But the most enchanting spot, to my taste, in the whole 
•neighborhood is Captain Bayley's "Villa Marina." This 
enterprising gentleman was formerly a ship captain, and is 
now the agent for the P. and 0. Company. His intense love 
for nature prompted him to select for his residence a spot 
that for wild and picturesque beauty cannot be surpassed. 
About midway in the wide semicircular sweep of shore 
wiiich encloses the northern part of the harbor, two huge 
masses of gneiss rock jut far out into the ocean; several 
small rock islets, densely overgrown with pandanus shrubs, 
are grouped like sentinels around them. On one of these 
rock masses (the one farthest towards the east) Captain 
Bayley has built a tasteful villa that, with its lovely garden, 



HO INDIA AND CEYLON. 

forms a veritable "Miramare of G-alla." From the west 
windows of the villa, and particularly from the terrace out- 
side, one enjoys a view of the city and the intervening 
harbor that is not surpassed by any point of view in the 
neighborhood. The light-tower and the Protestant church 
are salient features in the beautiful panorama, and are 
especially attractive when illumined by the golden radiance 
of the morning sun. A charming middle ground is offered 
by the picturesque black rock-islets with their fantastic 
decorations of screw-palms; and the little Singhalese fish- 
ing huts nestling at their feet. For the foreground, the 
cloven rocks tossed about, and heaped up in the wildest 
disorder in the immediate vicinity of the villa, will furnish 
a grotesque motive — or, if a friendlier character is desired 
for the picture, then copy a stretch of the lovely garden 
with its adornments of choicest tropical plants. 

Among the numerous embellishments of this garden are 
several splendid examples' of the Egyptian dhum-palm 
(Hyphane thebaica), in which I was specially interested. 
The strong stem of this palm is not, like most of the trees 
belonging to this family, a slender column, but is repeatedly 
forked like the dragon-tree, or draccena; every branch 
bears a crown of fan-shaped leaves. I had made the ac- 
quaintance of this celebrated palm — which grows principally 
in Upper Egypt — in the Arabian village of Tur, at the foot 
of Mt. Sinai, and have given an illustration of it in my 
Avabischen Kor alien (plate iv. p. 28). You may, there- 
fore, imagine how surprised I was when I here beheld the 
same tree in so different a guise that I scarcely recognized 
it. The adapting it to the totally different conditions of 
life in Ceylon had transformed the Egyptian dhum-palm 
to quite another tree. The powerful stem seemed at least 
twice as strong and far more vigorous than in its native 
land; the forked branches were more numerous, but 
shorter and more compact; the gigantic fan-shaped leaves 
much larger, more luxuriant, and more succulent; the 
flowers and fruit seemed also to have increased in size and 
beauty. Indeed the entire liabitus of the beautiful tree 
had so changed in the forcing-house climate of Ceylon 
that the most essential features of its inherited physi- 
ognomy seemed to have entirely disappeared. And all this 
had been accomplished by the changed conditions — above 



INDIA AND CEYLON. Ill 

all. the increased humidity of the atmosphere — of this tree, 
accustomed from its earliest infancy to the hot, dry climate 
of tne North African deserts. The stately dhum-palms in 
the Villa Marina garden were grown from seed brought 
from Egypt, and in the space of twenty years haye at- 
tained a height of thirty feet! 

A large portion of the villa is taken up by an extensive 
fernery. Ferns thrive excellently well in the natural forc- 
ing-house climate of Ceylon, and Captain Bayley, in addi- 
tion to a choice selection of the most beautiful native ferns, 
has a number of remarkable exotics. Here one may at a 
glance view the entire wealth of delicate and attractive 
forms which are unfolded by these exquisite cryptograms. 
Nor is there a lack of tree ferns, selaginellas and lyco- 
podiae. 

There are charms for the zoologist as well as for the 
botanist in this miramare of G-alla. A miniature menagerie 
in the lower court contains a number of curious mammals 
and birds, besides an ostrich from New Holland, several 
owls and parrots, and a native ant-eater (Manis). The 
latter, together with several curious fish, Captain Bayley 
was kind enough to present to me; and on Christmas, after 
I had gone to Belligam, he sent me another interesting gift 
in the shape of a pair of loris (Stenops). But far more 
attractive to me than these curious animals were the ex- 
quisite corals that literally cover the rocks surrounding 
Villa Marina; even the little harbor in which Captain Bay- 
ley moors his boats, and the stone piers of the landing- 
place are thickly coated with these lovely creatures. A 
great many other marine animals that inhabit the Galle 
coral banks are also to be found crowded into this limited 
space: huge black sea-urchins and red sea-stars, multitudes 
of crabs and fish, beautifully variegated snails and mussels, 
curious worms of different classes, and whatever the motley 
company may be called that lives, moves, and has its being 
among the branches of the coral trees. For this reason 
Captain Bayley's villa, which he is willing to dispose of on 
account of his removal to Colombo, is peculiarly adapted for 
a zoological station, and is besides but half a mile from the 
city. 

If you ramble along the rocky shore in an easterly direc- 
tion around the bay of Galle, you will gradually ascend one 



112 INDIA AND CEYLON 

of the higher outlooks from which there is another beauti- 
ful view of the city and harbor, and which is fitly named 
" Bella Vista." Here a Protestant clergyman, the Kev. Mr. 
Marx, has built himself a handsome villa and established a 
mission. 

The thickly-wooded hill, which juts into the water in a 
southerly direction, ends abruptly in a steep rocky bluff 
that faces the light-tower on the opposite shore of the har- 
bor. There was a project at one time to fortify this point, 
but it was never carried into effect. Several cannon still 
peer from the tangled masses of wanton creepers; a merry 
company of apes were frolicking over the bluff the Sunday 
afternoon I visited it. The narrow path I followed for 
some distance led me along the steep rocky shore into a 
dense thicket of pandanus trees and lianas. The thicket 
is cloven by a deep ravine, along the bottom of which a 
mountain brook leaps merrily towards the sea. Near its 
mouth the stream falls into a natural basin of rock, and 
this is a favorite bathing resort for the native inhabitants 
of G-alle. The day I came unexpectedly from the thicket 
I surprised a dusky group of bathers, of both sexes, disport- 
ing themselves in the cool water of the " Onawatty Basin." 

There is another similar rock basin below the bluff; it is 
called the "watering place," because its abundant flow 
supplies most of the ships with delicious drinking water. 
The walls of rock which enclose this natural basin are over- 
grown with thorny date-palms (Phmnix sylvestris), snowy- 
blossomed asclepias, and green-gray euphorbias (Eujiliorbia 
antiquorum) , that resemble a huge "girandole cactus;" 
they, together with their "wooden-legged" neighbors, the 
pandanus trees, belong to the most peculiar growths of these 
thickets. 

Quite a different character from the savage rocks on the 
south-east of G-alle, is shown by the placid valleys extending 
between the rows of wooded hills north of the city. Here 
the idyllic character of the south-west coast again predomi- 
nates. A favorite excursion in this direction is to " Wack- 
welle Hill," on whose summit an excellent carriage road 
winds through a beautiful grove of cocoa-palms. In the 
grove, which is a favorite resort for picnic parties from the 
city, an enterprising speculator lately opened a restaurant, 
and charges every visitor, whether he patronizes the estab- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 113 

lishment or not, a sixpence for the lovely view. The latter 
comprises the broad, verdure-clad valley of the Gindura 
River, which empties into the sea half a mile north of the 
city. Like a glittering ribbon of silver the river winds 
among the crisp green rice fields, the " paddy fields" that 
cover the lower portions of the valley. The slopes on either 
side are adorned with the most luxuriant shrubbery that is 
animated everywhere by multitudes of apes and parrots. 
In the distance rise the ever-present mountain ranges of 
the highlands, and towering above them, the stately " Hay- 
cock," which takes its name from its peculiar form, a 
bell-shaped stack of hay. This peak is visible for a long 
distance, and serves as a landmark for approaching ships. 

But more enchanting than the land gardens in the 
vicinity of Galle are the submarine gardens of coral that 
encircle the walls of the fort, and I still regret that I was 
not able to devote weeks instead of a few days to then- 
investigation. In this particular Eansonnet, the Vienna 
artist, was more fortunate. Aided by the best of modern 
appliances for marine investigations — among them an im- 
proved diving-bell — he devoted several weeks to studying 
the coral banks in Galle harbor, and has given an excellent 
description of them in his illustrated work on Ceylon. 
(Westermann, Brunswick, 1868.) Four colored plates, for 
which he made the sketches under water in his diving-bell, 
illustrate animal life in this mysterious coral world. 

Nine years ago, when I visited the coral banks of the Red 
Sea at Tur, on the Sinai coast, and for the first time saw 
the wonderful formation of these enchanted submarine gar- 
dens, my highest interest was excited, and I attempted in 
my popular lectures on " Arabian Corals" (Berlin, 1876) 
to briefly describe the organization of the remarkable ani 
mals, and their connection with various other creatures. 
The corals of Ceylon, with which I became acquainted in 
Galle and Belligam, vividly recalled those delightful ex- 
periences, and enriched me with an abundance of new ones. 

The Indian marine fauna of Ceylon is closely allied to 
the Arabian fauna of the Red Sea, both having many 
genera and species in common. But the number and 
variety of different organisms is considerably larger in the 
broad basin of the Indian Ocean, with its diversified coast 
development, than in the circumscribed limits of the 



114 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

Arabian Gulf, with its uniform and monotonous condi- 
tions of life. I also found that, in spite of the apparent 
similarity of the coral banks in these two regions, there 
was considerable difference between their general physi- 
ognomy. While the predominant hues of those at Tur are 
a warm yellow, red, orange, and brown; the prevailing 
color in the coral gardens of Ceylon is green — green in all 
its various shades and tones. Yellow-green Alcyonia stand 
beside sea-green Heteropora; malachite-green Anthophylla 
beside olive-green Millepora; emerald-green Madrepora and 
Astreae beside brown -green Montipora and Meandrina. 

Kansonnet justly remarked the striking predominance 
of green everywhere in Ceylon. Not only is the greater part 
of this "ever-green isle" ornamented the whole year 
through with an unfading carpet of verdure, but a majority 
of the animals that inhabit it are conspicuously green. The 
most numerous birds and lizards, butterflies and beetles 
are decked in brilliant green, as are also many of the marine 
creatures of widely different classes, namely, fish and crabs, 
worms (AmjjMnomce) and sea-roses (Actinia)-, why, even 
animals that elsewhere seldom or never don the green livery, 
here wear it as a constant uniform, as, for instance, several 
members of the star-fish family (Ojihiura), sea-urchins, sea- 
cucumbers, giant mussels (Tridacna), spirula and others 
of a similar character. An explanation of this phenomenon 
may be deduced from the Darwinian theory of selection, 
especially from the law of adaptation as applied to the 
"sympathetic selection of color," which I have demon- 
strated in my Natural History of the Creation (seventh 
ed., p. 235). The less the predominant color of an animal 
differs from that of its environments, the less likely is it to 
attract the notice of its foes, the easier it can unobserved 
approach its prey, and consequently, the more it is likely 
to be favored in the " struggle for existence." Natural se- 
lection, therefore, constantly increases the harmony between 
the prevailing hue of the organism and that of its environ- 
ments, because it is of advantage to the former. The coral 
banks of Ceylon, with their predominant green inhabitants, 
as aptly illustrate this theory as the green land animals 
that animate the ever-verdant thickets of the island. But 
the former surpass the latter in purity and brilliancy of 
coloring. 



SiWIA AND CEYLON. 115 

It would be a mistake to conclude that this excess of a 
single color would become monotonous. On the contrary 
one never wearies of its various tones and exquisite modi- 
fications. Besides it enhances the beauty of various other 
hues; the lovely red, yellow, violet, and blue tints of many 
birds and insects are rendered doubly attractive by reason 
of their contrast with the dark green forests of Ceylon. 
So with the same brilliant hues of many of the sea an^ 
mals on the coral banks. Especially conspicuous for their 
splendid coloring and peculiar markings, are many of the 
small fishes and crabs that seek nourishment among the 
branches of the coral trees. Some of the corals are also 
highly colored; for instance, many ProcillojJorcB are rose- 
colored, many star-corals are red or yellow, many Hete- 
roporae and Madreporae are violet and brown, etc. Unfort- 
unately these exquisite tints are for the most part extremely 
transitory, and vanish directly the corals are taken from 
the water, and frequently on being merely touched. The 
sensitive animals, those with widely extended cilia, and 
magnificent with brilliant coloring, then suddenly contract, 
and become dull, colorless, and shapeless. 

If the gorgeous hues of the coral gardens and their motley 
inhabitants charm the eye, then will it be completely fas- 
cinated with the beauty and variety of form unfolded by 
these diminutive creatures. As each one of the radiant 
coral individuals may fitly be compared to a lovely flower, 
so the united groups may be said to resemble trees and 
shrubs. Formerly, indeed, corals were universally believed 
to be actual plants, and it was a long time before the world 
became convinced of their true animal nature. 

At ebb tide, when the water is perfectly calm, the coral 
gardens offer an enchanting and fairy-like spectacle. Near 
the fort the water is so shallow that the keel of the boat 
grates upon the callous animal groups, and so clear that 
you can plainly distinguish the coral trees from the top of 
the walls. Such an abundance of beautiful and remark- 
able forms are concentrated in this narrow space that I 
was able in a few days to make a splendid collection. 

Mr. Scott's garden, in which he kindly allowed me to 
dry my collection, presented a very curious appearance. 
The magnificent tropical plants seemed to vie with the 
strange usurpers from the sea for the prize of beauty and 



116 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

brilliancy of coloring, while the happy naturalist, intoxi- 
cated with delight, rambled among them, unable to decide 
whether the prize should be given to the flora or the fauna. 
The corals with all their exquisite varieties of form imitated 
the most beautiful plant forms, while the orchids and spice- 
lilies in turn simulated insects. The two great kingdoms 
of the organic ' world here seemed to have made an ex- 
change of form. 

The majority of the corals I collected in G-alle, and later 
iu Belligam, were obtained with the assistance of divers. 
These I found as skilful and persevering as the Arabian 
divers at Tur. Armed with strong iron chisels .they would 
loosen large blocks of the calcareous structures and carefully 
raise them to the surface of the water. Many of the blocks 
weighed from fifty to eighty pounds, and required no little 
dexterity and labor to be safely deposited in the boat. 
Some corals are so brittle they break with their own weight 
when lifted from the water. It is, therefore, unfortunately 
impossible to secure unbroken specimens of many of the 
most attractive forms. Among the most brittle corals are 
certain delicate Turbinarice whose convoluted stems resem- 
ble inverted cones, while some of the many-pronged Het- 
ero]JorcB, are like colossal, hundred-branched stag-horns. 

The entire attraction of a coral bank cannot be seen from 
above, even though you float immediately over it at ebb 
tide, and the water is so shallow your boat scrapes against 
the points. A descent into the fluid element is therefore 
necessary. Not possessing a diving-bell I attempted to 
swim to the bottom, keeping my eyes open, and after con- 
siderable practice accomplished this feat. Quite wonder- 
ful, then, is the mystical green glimmer that illumines the 
whole of this submarine world. The fascinated eye is 
continually surprised by the most remarkable light-effects, 
quite different from those of the familiar upper world with 
its "rosy radiance," and doubly curious and interesting 
are the forms and movements of all the thousand different 
creatures swarming in the coral gardens. The diver is in 
a new world. Here are multitudes of remarkable fishes, 
crabs, snails, mussels, star-creatures, worms, etc., whose 
nourishment consists exclusively of the flesh of the coral 
animals on which their habitations are fixed; and these 
coral- devourers — one may appropriately term them "para- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 117 

sites'* — have, through adaptation to their peculiar mode of 
life, acquired the most astonishing forms, and have been 
furnished with weapons of defence and offence of the most 
singular shapes. 

But, if the naturalist may not ramble free from danger 
among palms, neither may he swim unmolested among 
coral banks. The Oceanidae, who jealously guard these 
cool fairy regions of the sea, threaten the intruder with a 
thousand dangers. The fire-corals (millepora), as well as 
the medusae swimming among their branches, sting, when 
touched, like the most resentful nettles. The floating cilia 
of many of the mailed fishes (Synanceia) inflict wounds 
that are as painful and dangerous as those of a scorpion. 
Many crabs nip in the severest manner with their power- 
ful claws. Black sea-urchins (Diadema) bore their barbed 
spines, a foot long, into the flesh, where they break off and 
cause annoying sores. But the worst damage to the ven- 
turesome diver is inflicted by the corals themselves. The 
thousands of sharp points on their calcareous structures 
cut and abrade the skin in various ways. In all my 
life I never had such an excoriated and lacerated body 
as when coral-fishing at Punto G-alla, and I suffered from 
the wounds for several weeks. . But what are these transi- 
tory sufferings to the naturalist whose whole life has been 
enriched by the marvellous experiences and natural enjoy- 
ments of his visit to the wonderful banks of coral ! 



X. 

Bellagemma. 



Bella gemma — beautiful gem ! How often I think of 
thee ! How often thy matchless image hovers before my 
vision and calls to mind a world of enchanting reminis- 
cences ! Truly, if Ceylon is the diadem of India, then 
art thou its most transcendent jewel ! Bella gemma della 
Taprobane ! 

The kindly-disposed reader will, I hope, pardon me for 
the unwarrantable liberty I have taken with the orthogra- 
phy of Belligam, which means something vastly different 



118 INDIA AND CEYLON 

from "beautiful gem." The original Singhalese name of 
the village is Weligama (which is sand-village, from well, 
sand, and gama, village). But the Euglish always speak 
of it as Belligam, and so we need only substitute an a for 
the i to give the word ah Italian sound and signification 
which aptly describe the rare charms of the lovely spot. In 
my remembrance at least " Bella-gemma" will ever be con- 
nected with a gem of transcendent lustre, while the sandy 
beach that gave " Weligama" its name is thrust into the 
remote background. 

After concluding to set up my zoological laboratory for 
several months in Belligam, I naturally sought to in- 
form myself as to its conditions of life. In spite of re- 
peated inquiries, however, I could learn nothing but that 
the village was pleasantly situated in a cocoa grove, that its 
sheltered harbor abounded in coral, and that the rest-ho use 
was fairly comfortable. The negative reports were: thai- 
neither European resident nor European civilization was 
to be found in or near Belligam — all of which I soon found 
to be very true. The mystic veil of adventure and strange- 
ness enveloped my near future, and I confess that it was 
not without a secret misgiving and a certain sense of inse- 
curity that I bade adieu, on the 12th of December, to Galle 
and European culture. 

In Colombo and Kandy I had seen how near to aboriginal 
nature obtruded the culture- varnish of Europe, and how 
narrow was the dividing line between primitive forest and 
densely-populated city. In the most southerly portions of 
the island I might expect to find these conditions exagger- 
ated ; consequently all my hopes and expectations were 
centred on the official document I had received from the 
governor, and on the tried good fortune which had never 
yet deserted me. 

Thus, full of expectation, I took my seat in the light 
wagon which was to convey me along the south coast to 
Belligam. It was five o'clock in the morning, and still 
quite dark, when I drove out from the fort and through 
the pettali along the harbor in a southerly direction. Softly 
slumbering lay the Singhalese wrapped in white cotton 
sheets on the palm mats in front of their silent huts. Not 
a sound was to be heard. The deepest silence and solitude 
lingered over the peaceful landscape. All this was suddenly 



INDIA AND CEYLON 119 

changed by the magic wand of the rising sun, whose first 
gleams roused life and motion among the somnolent palms. 
Several birds lifted up their voices in the tops of the trees; 
the frolicsome palm squirrel quitted his nest and began his 
morning promenade up and down the cocoa stems, and the 
indolent "cabragoya," the huge green lizard (Hydro- 
saurus) stretched his lazy limbs on the verge of the pools. 
In the gardens beyond the limits of the city, nimble apes 
sported among the fruit trees from which they had just 
stolen their breakfast. 

Soon the natives began to stir, and whole families assem- 
bled to enjoy their morning bath along the public highway. 

Among the many novel impressions which astonish the 
European traveler in the equatorial regions, is the absence 
of twilight — that dreamy transition period between day and 
darkness which plays so important a part in our northern 
romance and poetry. Scarcely has the radiant sun, that but 
a moment before gilded the entire landscape with effulgent 
glory, vanished into the blue waters of the ocean, when 
swarthy night spreads her downy pinions over land and sea; 
and broad daylight as quickly succeeds the dusk of early 
morning. Here Anrora, the rosy-fingered goddess of the 
dawn, has lost her sway. But all the more brilliant is the 
young day for his unheralded approach, while the sunlight, 
broken into a thousand rays by the feathery palm leaves, 
is all the brighter for its sudden coming. The dewdrops 
hang like diamonds from every leaf point, and the glossy 
plumes of the bananas glitter in the sunshine like a thou- 
sand mirrors. The gentle morning breeze from the sea gives 
motion to the lovely plant forms, as well as refreshing cool- 
ness to the traveler." Everything breathes with new, fresh 
life and enjoyment. 

The same features characterize the fifteen miles of excel- 
lent road between Galle and Belligam that were described 
between the former place and Colombo. Only here the 
cocoa-groves seem even more luxuriant, more abundant, if 
possible, than farther north. Multitudes of climbing 
plants festoon the palms with exquisite garlands of verdure 
and bloom, while the banana groups, papayas, and bread- 
fruit trees encircling the lowly huts, the dainty manihots 
and yams in the hedges, the giant caladium and colocasia 
alongside the road, all seem more flourishing, more vigor- 



120 INDIA AND CEYLON. 



are 



ous than nearer Colombo. Besides, the cocoa-groves 
enlivened by numerous little ponds decked with lotus blos- 
soms and other aquatic plants, and traversed by roistering 
brooks whose banks are .fringed with the loveliest ferns. 

Then come more rocky hillocks covered with fra- 
grant pandanus shrubs, alternating stretches of sand car- 
peted with crimson convolvuli, white lilies, and other 
showy flowers. At the mouths of the small coast streams 
which intersect our road appear the stately bamboos 
and sombre mangroves; among them the curious stemless 
napa-palm with its feathered crest just lifted above the 
water. 

Thus the eye never wearies of the beautiful plant forms, 
and I was almost sorry when, after a rapid drive of several 
hours, my Tamil coachman pointed towards a distant pro- 
montory that jutted far out into the sea and said : 

"Weligama on the other side." 

Soon the detached huts aloug the road became more nu- 
merous, and grouped themselves into village streets; on 
either side were crisp green rice fields interspersed with 
lovely groves. The stones in the walls are chiefly blocks of 
coral. A sudden turn brought us in sight of an eminence 
to the left of the road, on which stands an imposing Bud- 
dha temple, called Agrdbuddha-Ganni, a famous resort for 
devout pilgrims. Close by, to the right of the road, and 
shaded by a kitool palm, is a colossal statue (carved in relief 
from the black rock) of one of the ancient kings, "Kustia 
Raja." His powerful frame is covered with scale-armor, 
and crowned by a mitre. The ancient chronicles not only 
extol his prowess as a conqueror, but laud him as the bene- 
factor of Ceylon for teaching the Singhalese the use of the 
cocoanut. Soon after passing this statue we drove through 
a little bazaar, and in a few minutes more halted in front 
of the long-dreamed-of rest-house of Belligam. 

Around the gate of the wall which encloses the rest-house 
garden was a dense throng of inquisitive human beings, 
among whom I noticed several distinguished natives of the 
highest caste. In pursuance of the governor's command, 
the president of the south province (or government agent, 
which is his less imposing title) had informed the head-men 
of Belligam of my intended visit, and had also directed 
them to welcome me with becoming respect. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 121 

The first head-man, or " mudlyar," a stately man of per- 
haps sixty years, with a good-natured countenance and a 
flourishing beard, approached the wagon and greeted me 
with a ceremonious speech in broken English. He assured 
me, with extreme politeness and dignity, that his whole 
"korle" or village felt highly honored by my visit, and 
that its four thousand dusky inhabitants would endeavor 
to make my stay among them as pleasant as possible. As 
for himself, he was at my command whenever I chose to 
call upon his services. A vigorous drumming, accomplished 
by several energetic tom-tom beaters in the background, on 
the conclusion of this formal reception-speech, corroborated 
its official importance. 

After I had answered and thanked the mudlyar, he in- 
troduced me to the important personages in his suite : the 
second head-man, or Arachy, the collector of taxes, and the 
doctor, as well as to some of the more distinguished citi- 
zens of Belligam, all of whom assured me in the friendliest 
manner that they were ready to assist me in any of my un- 
dertakings. These handsome promises were likewise con- 
firmed by the tom-tom beaters. The doctor and the col- 
lector, both of whom spoke English fluently, interpreted 
the Singhalese speeches, while their fellow-townsmen lis- 
tened with eager attention, and curiously inspected the new 
arrival and his luggage. 

This ceremonious reception was all the more amusing 
from the fact that the dress of the distinguished reception 
committee was a comical mixture of the fashions of Europe 
and Ceylon. The upper, half of the person was clad ac- 
cording to the latest approved mode of the former country, 
and the lower half in strict accordance with the prevailing- 
Singhalese styles. Beginning with the head, our eyes are 
delighted by a "chimney-pot" hat of irreproachable style 
— of all head-gear, without a doubt, the most hideous, as 
well as the most unpractical, but the Singhalese chief, 
whose observant eye has noticed that his European brother 
on all occasions of ceremony considers a head-covering of 
this sort an indispensable emblem of his high position as 
gentleman, would think it an unpardonable breach of eti- 
quette were he to appear even in the hottest weather without 
the imposing "chimney-pot" when ceremony demanded it. 
His good-natured bronze face, which the narrow-brimmed 



122 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

hat scarcely shades, is framed by a heavy black beard 
that is cut away from the chin; below it protrude the 
points of a voluminous collar, around which is elaborately- 
knotted a gorgeous silk kerchief. Nor is the black " dress- 
coat," with its concomitant white waistcoat, missing; the 
latter is profusely ornamented with brilliant stones and 
gold embroidery. Instead of the customary trousers, how- 
ever, the dusky official wears the national covering for the 
lower extremities, a red comboy — a wide apron that re- 
minds one of the red petticoats worn by the German peas- 
ant-girls. His dainty little feet are either entirely bare, 
or protected merely by sandals. 

After the friendly reception, which certainly promised 
favorably for my stay in Belligam, my new protector led 
the way through the gate into the pretty rest-house garden, 
which is enclosed by a white wall. The first sight of my 
new abiding-place surpassed my expectations. The rest- 
house is a handsome, one-storied stone structure, with the 
usual wide portico, white columns, and projecting red tile 
roof. The broad green lawn stretching along the east front 
of the house is ornamented by a superb teak tree whose 
columnar trunk rises to a height of eighty or ninety feet. 
Leguminous climbers are twined about it and hang in grace- 
ful festoons from the lofty branches. On the south side of 
the lawn a couple of cows are peacefully grazing in the 
shade of the most magnificent bread-fruit trees, whose 
gnarled trunks and far-spreading branches call to mind the 
finest oaks of our northern climate; but the large, deeply- 
lobed, dark green and glossy leaves, as well as the huge, 
light green fruit, give them a far more imposing appear- 
ance. 

Between the umbrageous crowns of these artocarpus 
giants is seen a smiling view of the sunny, almost circular 
harbor of Belligam, on which, at the moment, are numerous 
vessels in full sail returning from a fishing expedition. 
The rocky promontory opposite (to the south) is partly 
covered with jungle and partly with cocoa-groves; the huts 
of the fishing village of Mirissa dot its gleaming sands. In 
the harbor, scarcely two minutes distant from the rest- 
house, lies a charming rock islet, Gan-Duva, entirely covered 
with elegant cocoa- palms. 

Continuing our voyage of discovery around the rest- 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 123 

house, we enter the fruit garden, which is filled with 
laughing bananas and lnanihots, and which extends from 
the west side of the house to a steep hill. At the foot of 
the latter is an out-building which contains the kitchen, 
and several store-rooms which will be of great service for 
my collections. A dense thicket, populated by apes and 
parrots, crowns the summit of the hill, whose steep slopes 
are decked with luxuriant shrubbery and a carpet of blos- 
soming creepers. Fascinated by the charming situation 
and idyllic surroundings of the rest-house, and eager to 
inspect its interior, I ascended the broad stone steps leading 
to the front entrance. Here I was met by another saluta- 
tory (half English, half Pali) from the steward of my new 
abode, the aged rest-house keeper. With arms crossed on 
his breast, his bronze frame bent almost double, the old 
fellow came toward me, and in the most submissive manner 
hoped I would be satisfied with the simple accommodations 
of the rest-house; whatever of rice and curry, of fruits and 
fishes the village could supply, that should be provided for 
my entertainment; nor should there be a lack of willing 
service. In short, I was to have everything that would 
make me comfortable while I remained in Belligam. All 
this,' and much more was handsomely promised by the old 
man in a well-constructed speech that was flavored with a 
number of philosophical phrases. As I looked into his 
broad, good-natured face, with its short, turned-up nose, 
small eyes, thick lips, and long, tangled, silvery beard, 
there suddenly occurred to me the familiar bust of Socrates 
which always recalled the head of a satyr. This resem- 
blance, and my inability to remember the interminable 
Singhalese name of my host, caused me to straightway dub 
him Socrates. The rechristening was amply justified 
later, for the old man proved himself in various ways a 
worthy follower of his illustrious Greek prototype. 

And now it seemed as if the familiar impressions of 
classic antiquity which greeted me on the very threshold 
of my idyllic abode were to continue to haunt me. "When 
Socrates "conducted me across the portico into the wide 
entrance hall, there, with arms uplifted, in an attitude of 
supplication, stood a lovely nude bronze figure that could 
be no other than the celebrated statue of the boy at prayer, 
the " Adorante" What was my surprise, to see this ex- 



124 INDIA AND CEYLON 

quisite bronze image suddenly quicken, drop its arms, kneel 
at my feet, lift its eyes beseechingly to my face, then bow 
its beautiful head in mute submission until the long black 
locks lay on the stone floor. 

The boy — so Socrates informed me — who was a member 
of one of the lowest castes, the Eodiya, had lost his par- 
ents when a mere child, and had been befriended out of 
compassion by the rest-house keeper. He was intended 
for my personal service, and would have nothing to do but 
wait exclusively on me; he was a good-natured lad, and 
would be sure to perform his duties faithfully. In answer 
to my request for the name of my page, Socrates informed 
me that it was, " Gamameda" (village-centre: garnet, vil- 
lage; and meda, centre). Naturally Ganymede instantly 
substituted itself, for a nobler namesake of Jove's favorite 
than this lithe-limbed, symmetrical youth could not have 
been found. Besides, Gamameda soon developed a wonder- 
ful efficiency as cup-bearer. He would not allow any one 
but himself to open a cocoanut for me, or fetch me a glass 
of palm wine. I was therefore justified in changing his 
name, as well as that of his master. Among the many 
valued images that animate my recollections of this trop- 
ical paradise, Ganymede is one of the most highly prized. 
He not only performed his menial duties with extreme con- 
scientiousness and attention, but he exhibited an attach- 
ment for my person and a readiness to serve me that was 
really touching. An unfortunate member of the Eodiya 
caste, the poor boy had from his infancy been subjected to 
the contempt of his fellows, and had been the object of 
constant unkindness and even cruelty; with the exception 
of old Socrates (who at times also treated him rather 
harshly), no one had taken kindly notice of him. Conse- 
quently my gentleness towards him from the very first mo- 
ment was as novel to him as it was delightful. He was 
specially grateful for the following service: A few days 
before my arrival he had run a thorn deep into his foot; 
in drawing it out a fragment had broken off and remained 
in the wound. I removed it after considerable trouble, and 
treated the painful wound with carbolic acid so success- 
fully that it healed in a short time. From that hour the 
grateful Ganymede followed me like my shadow, and 
sought to read my wishes in my eyes. Scarcely had I 



INDIA AND CEYLON 125 

risen from my bed when he was beside me with a freshly- 
plucked cocoanut, from which he offered me a delicious 
morning drink. At table he never took his eyes from my 
face, and always anticipated my every wish. When at 
work, he would clean my anatomical instruments and the 
microscope lenses. But happy Ganymede, when we sallied 
out to the cocoa-groves, or the sea-shore, to sketch or col- 
lect, to hunt or fish. On such occasions, if I allowed him 
to carry the paint-box or photographic camera, to sling the 
gun or the botanical case over his shoulder, he would strut 
after me with a beaming face, and look proudly around at 
the wondering Singhalese, who saw in him only the de- 
spised Eodiya slave; to them such distinction was utterly 
incomprehensible. My interpreter, the grudging William, 
was especially aggrieved, and sought every opportunity to 
slander Ganymede, but soon found that I would not toler- 
ate any injury to my favorite. Many of the handsomest 
and most valuable acquisitions in my collections I owe to 
the untiring zeal and skill of this despised Eodiya. With 
the keen eye, dextrous hand, and neetness of motion com- 
mon to the Singhalese children, he knew how to secure the 
soaring butterfly and the darting fish. When hunting in 
the forest, he would climb like a cat to tops of the tallest 
trees, or dart through the thickest jungle with a nimble- 
ness that was truly marvellous. 

Although the Eodiya caste to which Gamameda belongs, 
is of purely Oeylonese origin, it is regarded by the higher 
castes on the island (notwithstanding the fact that caste 
distinctions are not so rigid here as on the mainland) with 
as much abhorrence as the Pariahs in India. Its members 
perform only such labor as is considered degrading — to 
which, singularly enough, is reckoned the washing of 
clothes — and no Singhalese of higher caste will have any 
association whatever with a Eodiya. 

As if kind mother nature wished to atone for the unjust 
treatment of her outcast children, she bestows on them not 
only the blessing of perfect contentment, but endows them 
with the graceful gift of beauty — a benefice that may be 
constantly admired, as the Eodiyas wear only the most 
necessary clothing. 

The boys and young men, as well as the younger girls, 
o are, on an average, more beautifully formed and of nobler 



126 INDIA AND CEYLON 

feature than the rest of the Singhalese — circumstances 
which perhaps account for the envy and hatred of the 
higher castes. 

As a general thing the stronger sex in Ceylon is also the 
handsomer, especially the youths, whose noble Aryan fea- 
tures are distinguished by a certain dreaminess of expres- 
sion that is very attractive. Their delicate mouths are 
particularly beautiful, while their dark, soulful eyes are 
eloquent with promises their dull brains are unable to ful- 
fil; added to these perfections is a perfectly oval face framed 
by luxuriant raven tresses. As neither boys nor girls wear 
clothes until their eighth or ninth year — or at most only a 
narrow cloth around the loins — they furnish the most suit- 
able "life" for the Eden-like landscape; and the traveler 
frequently imagines he sees before him an animated Greek 
god. Kansonnet, on Plate IV., in his work on Ceylon, has 
a sketch of a fourteen-year-old Siniapu boy that illustrates 
,ftie characteristics above mentioned. Ganymede is very 
like the sketch, only his features are even more delicate and 
girlish, and remind one of the lovely face of Mignon. 

In old age the charm of this mild and attractive phy- 
siognomy is entirely lost — especially is this the case with 
the gentler sex — and a certain harsh expression or dulness 
takes its place. Frequently the bones of the face protrude, 
and give it anything but a pleasing appearance. A con- 
spicuous illustration of this peculiar deformity was old 
Babua, the third personality presented to me in the rest- 
house of Belligam, in the character of its cook. The lean 
old fel ow with his shrivelled limbs bore no resemblance 
whatever to the rotund, corpulent personage who reigns in 
the kitchens of our imagination. He was more like the 
quadrumanous ancestors of man, and when the wide mouth 
in the skinny brown face was distended by a grinning 
smile the resemblance to an old ape became all the more 
striking. It was therefore a comical coincidence that 
Bdbuin should be the systematic name of a branch of the 
ape family (Cynocephalus tahuin). Moreover, the old 
fellow, with his powerful under jaw, and low, receding fore- 
head (perhaps from negro blood in his veins) was a very 
harmless and good-natured creature. His ambition was 
satisfied if he succeeded in discovering a new kind of currv 
as a concomitant to the dish of rice he dailv set before no 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 127 

and I praised the mess. I could have wished that he — as 
well as old Socrates — would have paid more attention to 
cleanliness in the primitive kitchen. 

To the three permanent occupants of the rest-house was 
added a fourth ministering spirit in the person of William, 
my interpreter, whom I had brought with me from Galle. 
My English friends in the latter place had urged me to 
hire several servants: one to act as interpreter, one to assist 
me hunt, a valet, etc., etc.; but, having seen quite enough 
of the trouble and vexation a retinue of hirelings can cre- 
ate for their master, I did not take kindly to such a divi- 
sion of labor. I was very glad, therefore, to find that Will- 
iam could combine the functions of interpreter, huntsman, 
valet, and assistant in general. He had been a soldier, had 
served in the capacity of body-servant to an officer — and 
that he had done it well was conclusively proved by docu- 
mentary evidence — was a tolerably skilful and willing fel- 
low. Being a pure-blood Singhalese, however, he was en- 
dowed with the national aversion to work - in general and 
manual toil in particular; lie considered it mere prudence 
and wisdom to expend on every task he was called upon to 
perform as much time and as little energy as possible. All 
his interests and ambition — like most of the Singhalese 
youths — were centred in the artistic arrangement of his 
coiffure. To wash and comb, to dry and oil his long black 
hair, then to twist it into a perfectly regular coil, and fasten 
it with a large tortoise-shell comb at the back of his head, 
was for William a most important six-act drama, for the 
performance of which several hours every morning were re- 
quired. To recover from the exhaustion to which these 
arduous exertions always reduced him, an additional hour 
or two was of course necessary. His duties as interpreter 
and valet were performed with scrupulous care; but he 
would indignantly refuse to degrade himself by labor which 
required a great amount of physical exertion: on such oc- 
casions he would assure me with extreme hauteur that he 
was no "cooly." His trifling domestic tasks were per- 
formed with tolerable neatness and dispatch, and he was 
always ready and willing to assist me with the microscope. 

The fair and curious reader will doubtless inquire why I 
have not mentioned the feminine inhabitants of the Belli- 
gam rest-house. Unfortunately I am unable to say any- 



128 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

thing about them, for the simple reason that there were 
none there. Not only the cook, Babua, and the house- 
keeper, Socrates, and the maid, William, but the laundress 
that fetched my clothes every week, to beat them on the 
stones in the river, all were of the masculine gender, as 
are most of the servants in India. Nor was there much to 
be seen of the fairer sex in Weligama — but of this more 
hereafter. 



XL 

A Zoological Laboratory in" Ceylok. 

My first task in Belligam was, with the assistance of the 
four ministering spirits, to establish myself as comfortably 
as possible in the rest-house, and to set up a zoological lab- 
oratory. The house contained three spacious apartments, 
of which the middle one — the dining-room — served as sit- 
ting-room for the casual guests (especially for the govern- 
ment officials who might happen to patronize the house) ; 
a large dining-table, two benches, and several chairs com- 
pleted the furnishing. The large rooms adjoining the din- 
ing-saloon on either side were guest-chambers with huge 
Indian bedsteads, in which the restless dreamer might on 
his own axis comfortably describe a complete circle with- 
out touching the edges with his toes. The voluminous 
mosquito nets stretched over them doubtless once rendered 
excellent service, but at present only the evidences of 
past utility remained. I found the mattresses also in a 
condition that rendered it advisable for me to adopt the 
native fashion of sleeping on palm mats. In addition to 
the giant bedsteads in the guest-chambers, there was a 
small table with the necessary toilet appliances, and a cou- 
ple of chairs. The long windows in the white walls were, 
as everywhere in the tropics, without glass, but could be 
closed by the green wooden jalousies. The floor was laid 
with flagstones. I selected the lighter chamber facing 
jhe south, from which, througr. the door opening on a 
veranda, there was a lovely view of the harbor. I would 
have preferred to use this room solely as a work room and 
zoological laboratory, and the one facing north as a sitting 



INDIA AND CEYLON 129 

and bedroom; but one of them had to be reserved for trav- 
elers. The primitive simplicity of the rest-house furnish- 
ing compelled me to provide some additional and absolutely 
necessary household articles, without which it would have 
been impossible for me to accomplish my work. 

First of all I required large tables and benches, as well 
as cupboards and chests of drawers. To procure these 
was by no means an easy task, and although my new 
friends assisted me to the best of their ability, my labora- 
tory, when at last ready for occupation, lacked many 
things. The first chief had supplied me with boards 
which, when laid on my empty boxes, served as shelves for 
bottles and jars. The second chief gave me two old tables. 
The tax-gatherer (who, by the way, was a very polite and 
accomplished person) loaned me a pair of small cupboards, 
in which I could lock my valuable instruments, chemicals 
and poisons. The schoolmaster furnished a set of small 
book-shelves, and in this manner the laboratory was made 
tolerably practicable for my purpose by the worthy Belli- 
gamians, who desired nothing in payment for the small fa- 
vors but the privilege of satisfying their curiosity. Thi?, 
however, soon assumed such enormous proportions that it 
became extremely annoying and robbed me of much valu- 
able time. 

Aside from these most necessary household articles 
(which are considered superfluous luxuries by most of the. 
Singhalese), I could procure little or nothing that would 
be of use to me in Belligam; I was therefore heartily glad 
that I had brought from Europe all the requirements for 
my domestic economy, as well as for my zoological investi- 
gations. True, there was in the village a so-called carpen- 
ter, also a species of locksmith whose services I might 
frequently have required. But the primitive character of 
their tools sufficiently proved the quality of workmanship 
I might expect from them. 

It soon became evident that I would have to do everything 
for myself, for every time I called one of these Singhalej-e 
artisans to my aid I was obliged to remodel his work from 
the very beginning. As for letting them attempt to repair 
any of my instruments — and unfortunately they frequently 
needed it — it was entirely out of the question. 

However, in spite of all hindrances I succeeded in a few 



130 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

days in transforming the roomy guest-chamber into a 
fairly comfortable laboratory adequate to the requirements 
of our modern marine zoology. Microscopes and anatomi- 
cal instruments were adjusted; a dozen large and several 
hundred small vials and jars were methodically arranged in 
rows -on the shelves; the alcohol was decanted and the taste 
disguised with oil of turpentine, to preserve it from the 
bibulous inclinations of my servants. One of the two cup- 
boards contained the domestic apothecary shop, as well as 
some fire-arms, ammunition, and the ^magician's kitch- 
en," which comprised the different micro-chemicals, photo- 
graphic appliances, poisons for preparing and preserving 
animals, etc. In the other cupboard were stored books, 
papers, drawing materials, oil and water colors, and a 
number of valuable and fragile instruments. The legs of 
these two cupboards, as well as those of the tables, stood in 
earthen vessels, which were filled with water to protect 
them from the incursions of destructive ants and termites. 
Nets and fishing appliances occupied one corner of the 
room; guns and botanical cases another; in the third stood 
the soldering apparatus and tin boxes; while the fourth 
corner was entirely taken up by the huge bedstead which, 
during the day, served as a work table. 

Along the walls were ranged the empty chests for the 
collections, as well as the tin boxes which contained my 
wearing apparel. Above them nails were driven into the 
wall on which to hang the barometer, thermometer, scales, 
and a number of articles of daily use. Thus, in a few days 
the rest-house of Belligam was made to look like the ma- 
rine laboratory I had established for a six months' sojourn 
in Messina twenty- two years ago, and like the one on the 
Canary Island of Lanzarote fifteen years ago — with this differ- 
ence: My zoological and artistic outfits this time were more 
complete and varied, while, on the other hand, the comforts 
of my domestic economy were much simpler and of a more 
primitive character. However, I was consoled for the lack 
of many conveniences, by the fact that I was only six de- 
grees distant from the equator, and that no one in Ceylon 
had ever before enjoyed the use of so fine a laboratory for 
marine zoology — a thought that made me all the more 
eager to begin work. 

The difficulties which attend labor of this sort in the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 131 

tropics, especially the subtle investigation of the structure 
and development of the lower marine fauna, are recognized 
and deplored by all the naturalists that have undertaken 
such tasks in the last decades. Consequently, I was pre- 
pared to meet with hindrances, but soon found that they 
were infinitely greater and of a more varied character than 
I had imagined. Not only the excessively hot and moist 
climate with all its destructive influences, but existence in 
an uncultured village, among a half-civilized people, as well 
as a lack of many accustomed conveniences of civilization, 
oiier a thousand obstructions to the investigation and col- 
lecting of natural curiosities. 

I often thought regretfully of the many advantages and 
conveniences which I had enjoyed while engaged in zoolog- 
ical studies on the Mediterranean shore, aud w T hich w T ould 
be so sorely missed here. 

One of the greatest difficulties was to find a serviceable 
boat, as well as skilled fishermen to man it. The peculiar 
canoes which attracted my notice when I arrived at Co- 
lombo, and which have already been described, are the 
only kind in use along the Ceylon coast, except, of course, 
in the harbors of the larger cities. These canoes, which 
are from twenty to twenty-five feet long, are so narrow 
that a grown person sitting in them cannot place his feet 
side by side. Consequently you are wedged as it were into 
these boats, which are aptly described as " leg-pi nchers" 
by my friend Professor H. Vogel of Berlin, -who has had 
occasion to use them. Another fault with these canoes is 
the characteristic outrigger which, while it lends security 
to the craft and prevents it from upsetting, also prevents 
it from turning quickly, and compels you to keep one side 
of the canoe always towards the shore, or the object you 
wish to approach. There is no rudder, and the propelling 
power is an oar which is used by the oarsman sitting in the 
end of the canoe, first on one side then on the other. The 
^mailer canoes are manned by two, and the larger ones by 
tour or six natives. In addition to the oar there is a low 
nast, to which is attached a large four-cornered sail. The 
latter renders excellent service in a fair wind, when the 
light canoe, whose narrow beam offers little resistance to the 
vaves, glides like an arrow across the water. I have fre- 
quently traveled ten or twelve miles in an hour in one of 



132 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

these outrigger canoes — as rapidly as in a swift stear ihip. 
Should the wind blow too vigorously, so that the bo:»t ca- 
reens too much to one side, the nimble boatmen clamber 
with ape-like dexterity along the slender outriggers, and 
squat on the balance-log to give it additional weight. 

To dispose of a chest containing large glass jars, and the 
different instruments required to secure pelagic marine 
animals — especially medusa — in such a craft was, of course, 
impossible. I was therefore obliged to construct a sort of 
platform on the canoe, on which I might sit comfortably 
or move freely about. On either end of the platform were 
the chests, containing bottles and jars of all sizes, securely 
fastened with coir ropes. Eopes of the same material are 
used to lash together the different parts of the canoe; in- 
deed, the natives in building their boats use neither iron 
nor nails — only wood and cocoa fibre. 

In effecting these improvements in my canoe, as well as 
in hiring and instructing the native boatmen, I was greatly 
assisted by the second head man of Belligam, the Arachy, 
Abayawira, to whom I am further indebted for other valu- 
able services. 

The government agent of the South Province had told 
me about the Arachy's superior qualifications, and had spe- 
cially recommended me to his favor. I found him an un- 
usually intelligent and enterprising Singhalese of perhaps 
forty years, whose interests and information lifted him far 
above the majority of his countrymen. There was none of 
that stupid indifference which characterizes most of the 
Singhalese, about the Arachy. He was keenly interested 
in education, and sought by every means in his power to 
farther its advantages among his people. He spoke Eng- 
lish fairly well, and expressed himself with a clearness and 
intelligence that frequently astonished me. Indeed the 
Arachy was even a philosopher — of a higher grade than old 
Socrates at the rest-house — and I remember with great plea- 
sure the many and frequently very complex arguments we 
used to have on widely different subjects. Free from the 
superstitions and dread of spectres common to his Buddhist 
countrymen, and with a ready glance for the wonders of 
nature and their explanation by natural causes, the Arachy 
had developed into an independent free-thinker, and was 
delighted when he found that I was able to solve many of 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 133 

the problems which had sorely puzzled him. I can see him 
now, the dignified, handsome, bronze-hued man, with his ex- 
pressive and regular features ! How his black eyes sparkled 
with intelligence when I elucidated some natural phenome- 
non, and how his soft persuasive tones would plead for fur- 
ther enlightenment on this or that problematical question! 
In him I found all the good and commendable qualities of 
the" Singhalese character, the gentle manner and natural 
reserve, developed in their most attractive form; and when 
I people the verdant paradise of my recollections with the 
slender forms of its native inhabitants, the Arachy and 
Ganymede ever appear side by side as ideal types of that 
enchanted realm. The Arachy's nephew, a well-informed 
young man of seventeen years or more, a student in the 
Colombo normal school, who was spending his vacation at 
Belligam, was also a very useful and agreeable companion. 
Assisted by him and the Arachy I was able to secure four 
of the best and most skilful fishermen in Belligam. I paid 
them five rupees for every expedition, and when they were 
required to dive to the coral banks, or when we were out on 
the water over half a day, I always added a couple of rupees 
to the sum agreed upon. At first I experienced considera- 
ble trouble with my uninitiated assistants, and when I 
dragged the fine-meshed pelagic net along the surface of 
the water, or showed them the tiny medusae and polyps, 
the siphonophora and ctenophora, to secure which was evi- 
dently my main object, their looks plainly indicated that 
they thought me a lunatic. However, they gradually, and 
with commendable patience and indulgence, learned what 
it was I wanted, and then became quite as eager to enrich 
my collection with rare and beautiful specimens as I was 
myself. Two of the men were especially useful in diving 
to the coral banks; to their perseverance and ingenuity I 
am indebted for many of the lovely corals and curious ani- 
mals native to the submarine gardens which I brought 
with me from Belligam. 

But a more formidable obstruction to my pelagic fishing 
than the canoe and its crew, was presented by the tropical 
climate — that relentless and invincible enemy of the natural- 
ist, who frustrates so many of his designs and baffles so 
many of his undertakings. This I was destined to experi- 
ence the very first time I fished for marine treasures in the 



134 INDIA AND CEYLON.] 

bay at Belli gam. Detained by the numerous arrangements 
I was obliged to make for the expedition, I was not ready 
to depart for the fishing ground until nine o'clock. By 
that time the merciless tropical sun burned in the deep 
blue cloudless heavens with a radiance that transformed 
the perfectly smooth surface of the water into a gleaming 
mirror. The glare was intolerable to the eyes, and I was 
compelled to put on blue goggles if I wanted to keep them 
open. Hoping to find tiie temperature several degrees 
lower on the water I ordered my men to row quickly out ; 
but the intense heat seemed rather to increase than dimin- 
ish, while the dazzling mirror, unstirred by a breath of air, 
seemed a vast expanse of molten lead. Bathed in perspir- 
ation I fished for perhaps an hour when I became perfectly 
exhausted. My strength deserted me, there was a huin- 
ming in my ears, while the increasing pressure on my tem- 
ples made me apprehensive of sunstroke. As my clothes 
were already wringing wet with perspiration, I decided to 
try a remedy that had given me instant relief on similar 
occasions. I dashed a couple of pailfuls of sea water over 
my head, and covered it with a wet towel, on which I 
fastened my wide-brimmed sola hat. The result of this 
treatment was satisfactory, and I afterwards had recourse 
to it whenever the oppressive heat caused a return of the 
stupefying headache. With the water and the atmosphere 
both at a temperature of 22-26° R. such a drenching of 
the head with vaporable water is very beneficial. Even the 
wearing of wet clothes for several hours, which in our cool 
climate would give one a serious cold, is here as pleasant as 
it is harmless. 

The first expedition on the Bay of Belligam convinced 
me that it abounded in pelagic animals of widely dissimi- 
lar classes. The jars into which the swimming inhabitants 
of the surface water were emptied from the gauze net were 
quite full after a few hours' fishing. Among thousands of 
infinitesimal crabs and salpce floated delicate medusae and 
siphonophora; multitudes of snail and mussel larvae glided, 
by means of their dainty streamers, among fluttering 
sea-butterflies and Pteropoda; while hundreds of coral and 
crustacean larvae were falling prey to rapacious arrow- 
worms. (Sagitta). The majority of these organisms are 
colorless and of the crystalline transparency of the sea- 



IXDIA AXD CEYLON. 135 

Tt^ter in which they struggle desperately for existence. 
(According to Darwin's theory of selection, the transpar- 
ent condition of these pelagic " glass- animals" is the re- 
sult of this struggle for existence.) 

Although some of the species found here were new to 
me, I was familiar with most of the genera, for the prolific 
Mediterranean — especially the famous Strait of Messina — 
furnishes just such pelagic curiosities when the conditions 
are favorable for surface-water fishing. Still, among the 
old acquaintances I met with in the Bay of Belligam, I no- 
ticed a number of new and attractive forms that provoked 
immediate microscopic observation. Consequently I ordered 
my men to row quickly back to the shore, and while we were 
scudding through the water I devoted myself to an exam- 
ination my newly-acquired treasures. To my great disap- 
pointment I found at least half of the delicate captives dead 
and dying; some were overtaken by death in half an hour, 
others in less than fifteen minutes after they were taken 
from the bay. Their crystal bodies speedily clouded, and 
formed a white powdery mass on the bottom of the jars, 
and before we reached the shore I could detect the peculiar 
odor which proceeds from gelatinous bodies in a state of 
decomposition. In the Mediterranean, under similar cir- 
cumstances, death is not followed by decomposition until 
after a period of five to ten hours; here, with a higher 
temperature by several degrees it took place in half an 
hour's time. Alarmed by this discovery I hastened our re- 
turn to the land which we reached shortly before twelve 
o'clock. Here another difficulty presented itself: notwith- 
standing the midday sun's fierce heat, almost the entire 
population of Belligam was assembled on the strand lo 
learn the result of my extraordinary method of fishing. 
Each one of the dusky throng wanted to see what I bad 
caught, and wanted to know what I was going to do witii 
it — or, rather, in what shape I was going to devour it; for. 
that sea-creatures were captured for any other purpose than 
a dietary one of course never entered their heads. Conse- 
quently the amazement of the inquisitive natives, among 
whom I made my way with great difficulty, was by no 
means small when they beheld merely the white sediment 
on the bottom of the large glass jars, and the few tiny pe- 
lagic creatures that were still actively disporting themselves 



136 INDIA AND CEYLON 

\ in their new quarters. Afterwards the Arachy informed 
me that his fellow citizens could not understand, or in- 
deed believe, that I was engaged in merely scientific work; 
most of them detected behind all this mysterious business 
some sort of witchcraft, the preparing of magic potions, 
etc, while the realistic Belligamians believed I was trying 
to invent a new curry. The still more enlightened were 
confident that I was simply a European lunatic. 

Thus a valuable quarter of an hour was lost before I 
could force my way through the curious skeptics to the 
rest-house, and — as was my wont — to sort and distribute 
the thousand dainty creatures in glass vessels of fresh water. 

By this time at least nine tenths of my treasures were 
dead, and among them the new ones whose forms had par- 
ticularly interested me. The remaining tenth were already 
so exhausted that death seemed imminent at any moment, 
and in a few hours my jars were in fact nothing but huge 
receptacles for pelagic corpses ! The following days I 
sought by every means to counteract the fatal influence of 
the tropical sun, but was only partially successful. It was 
simply impossible to maintain the necessary low tempera- 
ture of the water. I was convinced that the first and most 
important requirements for the successful observation of 
marine fauna in so hot a country as Ceylon would be cool 
rooms and refrigerating water vessels. As large quanti- 
ties of ice, which was formerly imported from North Amer- 
ica, are now manufactured in Colombo by an artificial 
process at much less expense, it would not be a very diffi- 
cult matter to arrange cool apartments, and refrigerated 
aquaria. But a considerable sum of money would be nec- 
essary for such a project, and that is not at my disposal. 
A second important requirement for successful zoological 
study in these refrigerated Avork-rooms would be glass win- 
dows — conveniences which are almost entirely unknown in 
Ceylon. 

In the rest-house at Belligam, as well as in all the dwell- 
ings on the island, their place is supplied by wooden shut- 
ters or jalousies, at the top of which, as well as along the 
edges of the ceiling, and above the doors, are wide spaces 
to admit the air. For the purpose of ventilation these 
openings are of course very practical and comfortable, but 
for the naturalist, who is obliged to use a microscope, they 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 137 

are as objectionable as detrimental. All sorts of winged 
and creeping insects have free ingress; the most trouble- 
some are the swarms of flies, gnats, ants, and termites. 
Then the draught wafts your papers about, covers the instru- 
ments with dust, and frequently a more vigorous breeze dis- 
places everything in the room. No less detrimental are the 
jalousies themselves to a good light which is one of the 
most important requisites for microscopic examinations — 
especially when it is necessary to increase the magnifying 
power. Very often the condition of the sun and wind 
made it impossible for me to find a suitable corner for my 
work-table — either in the darkened room, or on the all-too- 
breezy veranda, whose wide, projecting roof was also a de- 
cidedly objectionable feature. 

To these and various other local obstructions to zoologi- 
cal study, may be added the annoyances arising from the 
curiosity of my neighbors. Never having seen any of the 
wonderful instruments I had brought*' to their village, the 
worthy Belligamians naturally wanted to know all about 
them, what they were intended for, and how I used them. 
In short, everything I did was for them a continual source 
of amusement. Like all semi-civilized peoples, the Sin- 
ghalese are in many respects mere children. Beneficent na- 
ture has made the conditions of their paradisal island so 
favorable that the struggle for existence on it is compara- 
tively easy, while actual toil is almost unknown. Innocent 
games and chatter form their principal amusements, conse- 
quently every new object becomes a source of interest. The 
too-frequent visits of my inquisitive neighbors at last became 
such an intolerable nuisance that I was obliged to speak of 
it, to some of the more important personages in the village. 
Steps were at once taken to remedy the evil; the masses 
were excluded from the rest-house, but the visits of the im- 
portant personages before mentioned became all the more 
frequent and of longer duration. The " doctor" was es- 
pecially interested in my microscope; the "tax-gatherer" 
took a wonderful fancy to my paint-box; the " magistrate " 
professed great admiration for the anatomical instruments 
(as implements of torture, perhaps !); the "schoolmaster" 
liked to examine my books, and so on. Everything I 
owned was felt, tested, and examined a thousand times, and 
quite as many nonsensical questions asked about each arti- 



138 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

ele. Seeing how intensely curious my constantly increas- 
ing collections made the worthy Belligamians, I undertook 
to satisfy what I believed to be an earnest desire for infor- 
mation. At stated hours on certain days I delivered a se- 
ries of formal lectures with copious illustrations — an expe- 
dient which had been employed with flattering success 
while fishing on the Mediterranean — but my native audi- 
ences would not believe half I told them, nor would they 
try to understand what I took great pains to explain. I 
soon became convinced that the childish inquisitiveness of 
the Singhalese had not yet developed into a true desire for 
knowledge, and that the causative coherence of phenomena 
had very little attraction for these innocent children ! 

It would weary the reader were I to enumerate allt he 
hindrances that opposed my zoological labors in the primi- 
tive laboratory at Belligam. Without the aid of a compe- 
tent European assistant, I was obliged to depend entirely 
on my own exertions, and much valuable time was lost in 
the performance of extra work, which would not have been 
the case had I been engaged in a similar task on the Euro- 
pean coast. Besides, the time I had to spend in Ceylon 
was entirely too short for the accomplishment of what I had 
originally intended: a series of coherent investigations of 
the history of evolution. Consequently, what I had at first 
deplored — that the number of new and peculiar sea animals 
in the Bay of Belligam was not nearly so large as I had 
expected — proved in the end a real consolation. The exten- 
sive marine investigations of the last twenty years (espe- 
cially those conducted by the Challenger expedition) con- 
clusively demonstrate, that the diversity of form among the 
inhabitants of the different oceans is nothing like so great 
as the difference between the inhabitants of the different 
continents. Of this fact my own investigations at Belli- 
gam were only additional proof. Of course 1 found a 
large number of new, and some very interesting animal 
forms— chiefly among the lower divisions of marine fauna — 
radiolarians, infusoria, spouges, corals, medusae, and si- 
phonophora — but they only furnished further evidence that 
the fauna of the surface-water of the Indian Ocean, as well 
as that along its shores, was closely allied to the better- 
kn )\v\\ sea-animal world of the tropical Pacific Ocean; for 
instance, Philippine and Fiji Islands. 



INDIA AND CEYLON 139 

Other portions of the Indian coast maybe richer in mani- 
fold and peculiar sea-animal forms than Ceylon, but the 
enormous quantity of rain which daily descends upon it 
would seem to me an extremely unfavorable circumstance. 
While the flora of the island owes its wanton exuberance to 
these deluging rains, they offer various obstructions to the 
development and prosperity of the fauna. The large 
masses of red earth which are daily carried into the ocean 
by the numerous streams, sully the purity of the water and 
diminish its saltness, thus destroying the pure, transparent 
quality of the sea water, which is one of the first conditions 
essential to the life of many marine, and particularly pe- 
lagic animals. 

If in spite of all hindrances I amassed a considerable 
zoological collection in Belligam, and brought back to Jena 
far more material for study than I can hope to master in 
the remaining years of my life, then I owe the greater part 
of it to the indefatigable zeal of my faithful Ganymede, 
whose highest ambition was to enrich my collection with 
land and sea-creatures of all sorts. Through his influence 
a number of boys were engaged to collect for me, and the 
curiosity-trade with these little fellows soon assumed a very 
pleasant as well as profitable character. At stated periods 
a whole army of nude graceful lads would wait on me at 
the rest-house. One dusky little god would bring a pair 
of exquisitely-tinted fishes, another a curious sea-star or sea- 
urchin, a third would offer a huge black scorpion or mille- 
ped. a fourth would display a pair of gorgeous butterflies or 
beetles, and so on. The entertaining scenes always recalled 
similar ones I had enjoyed on the Mediterranean shore, 
especially at Naples and Messina. But how different the 
behavior of the little traders here and there! The Italian 
boys extolled their wares in loud, noisy tones, and with na- 
tive eloquence frequently delivered long and flowery speeches 
eulogistic of their perfections. They asked ten times as much 
as the articles were worth, and were never satisfied even 
when I paid the exorbitant prices they demanded. On 
the other hand, the little Singhalese would shyly and re- 
spectfully lay their wares before me, and wait in silence to 
hear what I would offer for them. As a general thing they 
would be satisfied with a trifling coin, but they would be 
particularly delighted when I gave them any of the articles 



140 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

I had brought with me from Europe for bartering pur- 
poses. 

Unfortunately, I had neither time nor the appliances 
necessary to preserve all the interesting natural curiosities I 
collected in this manner. Here again the tropical climate 
and destructive insects presented insuperable difficulties — 
especially when I attempted to dry anything. To thorough- 
ly dry organic substances in such a humid atmosphere is 
one of the most difficult problems, for even the very air is 
filled with moisture, and a specimen that is already dry will 
mould and slowly decompose. It is absolutely impossible 
to sufficiently dry many objects. Although I hung the 
skins of the birds and mammals I had shot and taken so 
much trouble to prepare in the sun for weeks, every night 
would thoroughly drench them with moisture. 

More hostile still to the drying of natural curiosities than 
the humid atmosphere, are the legions of destructive in- 
sects. No place, no object, is safe from these pests. Ereu 
were there no chinks everywhere in the walls through which 
all sorts of creeping and flying beasties, as well as the humid 
air, have free ingress, it would still be impossible to pro- 
tect one's self from their attacks. Nothing can withstand 
the assault of their powerful jaws; they will force an en- 
trance through anything — the walls, the roof, and the stone 
floor, which they skilfully undermine. Frequently on ris- 
ing in the morning one is astonished to find conical heaps 
of earth which have been flung up between the flagstones 
during the night by the industrious termite, or ant sappers 
and miners. I was convinced of the energy and dispatch 
with which these minute enemies accomplish their work 
before the end of my first month in Belligam. I had ac- 
cumulated in these four weeks a handsome collection of 
dried butterflies and beetles, skins of birds and mammals, 
curious fruits and specimens of woods, ferns, and other in- 
teresting plants, and locked them — securely, as I imagined 
— in a small side-room of the rest-house. Almost every day 
I visited my treasures, to see whether the enemy had made 
any inroads upon them, and took good care always to de- 
stroy the advance-guard of the termite and ant armies I 
might find reconnoitring on my territory. By generous 
applications of camphor, naphtha, and carbolic acid I im- 
agined I had sufficiently protected my treasures to leave 



INDIA AND CEYLON 141 

them for a few days, as an excursion to a distant point, and 
some urgent work would require my attention for that 
length of time. How startled was I when at the end of 
the third day I entered my well-protected museum, and 
found most of my treasures transformed into heaps of dust 
and mould! A dozen regiments of large red ants had 
forced an entrance through the roof, several divisions of 
small black ants had entered through the walls, while a le- 
gion of termites had come up through the floor, and made 
a combined assault that resulted most disastrously for my 
collection! 

From that moment I gave up collecting dried curiosities, 
and turned my attention to preserving in alcohol or Wiek- 
ersheim fluid. The latter, which has been extolled beyond 
its actual merits, proved utterly useless. Even w T ith alco- 
hol I experienced considerable difficulty, for the supply I 
had brought from Europe was soon exhausted, and the do- 
mestic arrack (which is prepared by the natives) is of very 
inferior quality. The better alcohol obtainable in the larger 
cities is so very expensive — on account of the high tax on 
spirits — that I used it only in small quantities. Besides, 
much of my pleasure in these alcohol collections was spoiled 
by the disagreeable task of soldering the tin cases. Al- 
though the art is very simple — in theory — its practice is 
attended by considerable difficulty, especially in so primi- 
tive a village as Belligam. With the temperature at 22° 
or 24° E. it was actual torture to bend one's perspiring face 
over a red-hot stick of solder. I shudder when I think of 
the disagreeable labor which often tempted me to anathe- 
matize the whole collection ! Of course these dearly-bought 
treasures are all the more valuable to me now. The thirty 
chests of natural curiosities accumulated in Belligam, anil 
the twenty boxes full collected in Galle, amply reward me 
for all the tribulations I was obliged to endure. 



XII. 

Six Weeks among the Singhalese. 

Daily life in the rest-house of Belligam, after I had sur- 
mounted various obstacles, became very pleasant and satis- 



142 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

factory, and was attended by fewer objectionable features 
than I had at first apprehended. My fonr ministering 
spirits performed their tasks with tolerable diligence, and 
when anything was lacking my faithful Ganymede was 
always ready to supply the want. Fully awake to the pre- 
scribed limits of my time in Belligam and the many sacri- 
fices I had made to this Indian journey, I would say to 
myself every morning when I awoke, "This day is worth 
at least five pounds sterling, and I must accomplish enough 
work to equal that sum in value." Accordingly I made it 
a rule not to lose a single hour, and especially to forego 
the pleasure of the customary siesta during the hot hours 
of noon; they would be my most fruitful working time, for 
I might be certain that no one would disturb me. 

As Belligam is not quite six degrees from the equator, 
and even on the shortest day of the year there is scarcely 
an hour's difference between day and night, I might count 
on twelve working hours. Accordingly I arose regularly 
every morning before the sun, and had enjoyed my first 
refreshing bath when Helios made his appearance above the 
palm-groves on Cape Mirissa, directly opposite the rest- 
house. Then I would go out on the veranda, from whence 
I usually observed the sudden awakening of the young day, 
and find Ganymede awaiting me with a fresh cocoanut fr.ll 
of cool milk. In the mean time William would shake the 
millepeds, scorpions, and other unwelcome intruders from 
my clothes. Then Socrates would appear and humbly 
serve my tea, with the usual accompaniments of bananas 
and corn bread. I was obliged to forego the luxury of 
coffee, my favorite drink, for in Ceylon, whose coffee 
districts are its chief source of wealth, the noble beverage 
is usually so inferior that tea, which is much better, is gen- 
erally preferred. The reason for this is said to be that the 
coffee bean cannot be properly dried on the island. 

Usually at seven o'clock my boatman would fetch the 
nets and glass vessels for our daily expedition on the bay. 
On my return, after two or three hours, I would at onco 
distribute the treasures I had secured in the different ves- 
sels prepared for their reception, and proceed to examine 
and preserve those animals which were still alive. The 
more important would be subjected to close microscopic 
scrutiny, and perhaps have their portraits sketched. Then 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 143 

I would take my second bath, and after it, at eleven 
o'clock, a second meal, the so-called "breakfast," which 
consisted chiefly of the national "curry and rice." The 
rice itself was always simply boiled, but all the ingenuity 
stepmother nature had crammed into Babua's diminutive 
skull was daily exercised to surprise me with a new sort 
of curry. This most important ragout-like mess, which 
always accompanied a dish of rice, would sometimes be 
"sweet" (that is, with very little spice), sometimes "hot" 
(sharp with cayenne pepper and the like pungent season- 
ing); again the indefinable "mixtum compositum," would 
be chiefly vegetable (cocoanut, and various other fruits 
and vegetables); then again it would be animal, with 
meats of different sorts. The latter always excited my 
liveliest wonder, for Babua seemed to think that because I 
was a zoologist I would of course be interested in all the 
different animal orders, and that their adaptability to a 
curry would form an important zoological problem which 
it would give me pleasure to solve. If on Monday the ver- 
tebrates would be represented in the curry by a delicate 
fish, on Tuesday the finer prawns and crabs would appear 
as types of the articulates. If on Wednesday cuttle-fish or 
calamary (Sepia and Loligo) would appear as the highly- 
organized representatives of the mollusks, they would be 
surpassed on Thursday by boiled snails, and occasionally 
baked oysters. On Friday would follow the remarkable 
tribe of echinoderms, represented by the egg-like sea- 
urchins, or the tough, leathery holothures (trepang). 
Saturdays I naturally expected to be regaled with plant- 
animals, and would look for corals, medusae, or sponges, 
but my cook evidently held to the old-time theory which 
classes these zoophytes with plants, and substituted in their 
stead some sort of flying animal. Now it would be a bat or 
a bird, a corpulent rhinoceros-beetle, or a night-flying 
moth. Sundays a special feast would surprise me: the 
curry would contain an Indian fowl or else a plump lizard 
(iguana), occasionally also a snake that I at first took to 
ta an eel. Babua was evidently sure of the near consan- 
guinity of birds and reptiles, and thought it immaterial 
whether he prepared the younger or older sauropsida- 
form for the table. Fortunately for my European prej- 
udices, I was familiarized by degrees with the zoological 



144 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

variety of the rest-house curry — though usually not until 
after I had resignedly swallowed the mess. Besides there 
was such a conglomeration of spices, roots, leaves, and 
fruits mixed up in the thick sauce that only the most 
minute anatomical examination would have enlightened 
ine as to the nature of its component parts — and that I 
took good care not to undertake. 

The first week in Belligam I doubted very much whether 
I could stand a curry and rice diet for two months. But 
I was like Goethe with the muddy " Merseburger beer:" at 
first I could hardly make up my mind to taste the curry, 
and afterwards I could hardly do without it. The second 
week I concluded to make virtue a necessity, and deter- 
mined to find curry palatable — or at least interesting; and 
before the end of the first month gastronomic adaptation 
had made so thorough an Indian of me that I was con- 
stantly longing for new curries. I even devoted the results 
of my hunting expeditions to their discovery, and surprised 
old Babua himself with my improved curry-forms of ape 
and flying fox. The delicious fruits which graced the table 
at every meal richly compensated for the curry torments I 
had to endure. First of all I must gratefully mention the 
bananas, the noblest of tropical gifts that richly deserve 
their name of "paradise figs" (Musa sapientum). If this 
incomparable fruit in all tropical regions belongs to the 
most grateful of culture-plants, and repays its possessor a 
thousandfold for the trifling care bestowed upon it, then 
is this particularly the case in Ceylon. For is not this the 
•'"paradise of the lemur"? The pair of comical semi-apes 
or lemurs (Ste?iops gracilis) I kept at the rest-house were 
not in the least doubt about it; they preferred their lus- 
cious paradise figs to all other diet. Numerous varieties 
of the banana are cultivated by the Singhalese. The finest 
tire the small golden " Lady-fingers," which are really 
nut much larger than the finger of a fine lady, and are 
distinguished by a peculiar sweetness. The huge water 
banana is the shape, size, and color of a large cucumber, 
and contains a refreshing, thirst-satisfying juice. The 
thick potato banana is valued for its farinaceous substance 
and nourishing qualities, three or four being sufficient to 
satisfy hunger. The anana banana is distinguished by a 
delicious fragrance; the cinnamon banana by its spicy 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 145 

taete, etc. Usually the banana is eaten raw, but it is very 
palatable when fried in lard or baked. No other fruit on 
earth is at the same time so delicious to the taste and 
nourishing, so wholesome and abundant. A single banana 
tree will produce a cluster of fruit that contains several 
hundred bananas, and this tree, with its magnificent crown 
of huge green plume-like leaves, is merely an annual. The 
picturesque beauty of the banana vies with its inestimable 
utility. It is the loveliest adornment of the native huts. 
If I might transplant to my garden in Europe but one 
tropical plant, the " Mum sapientwni" would certainly 
have the preference over all others. This "Muse of the 
Sages" is in truth a vegetable "Philosopher's stone." 

Xext to the banana — of which I consumed several at 
every meal — the mango (Mangifera indica) formed one of 
the principal adornments of the rest-house table. It is a 
green, egg : shaped fruit, from three to six inches long, with 
a cream-like, golden pulp that has a faint but pronounced 
turpentine aroma. I found the fruit of the passion-flower 
(Passiflora) very agreeable, and very similar to our goose- 
berry. I was less pleased with the celebrated custard- 
apple, the scaly fruit of the Annona squamosa, and with 
the Indian almond, the hard nut of the Terminalia ca- 
tappa. The quality of the apple and orange grown in 
Ceylon is very inferior; the latter, which will not ripen, is 
juiceless and stringy. The inferiority of these and some 
other fruits is doubtless due to the want of cultivation. 
The Singhalese are too indolent to trouble themselves with 
the cultivation of plants. After I had refreshed myself 
with a simple breakfast I would usually devote the hottest 
hours of the day, from twelve to four, to anatomical or 
microscopic work, to observations and sketching, as well as 
preserving and packing collected material. The following 
hours, from four to six, I would devote to excursions into 
the country around Belligam; now I would sketch in 
water colors, now perpetuate a beautiful view by the aid 
of my photographic camera. Sometimes I would go into 
the forest to shoot apes and birds, or collect snails and 
insects; and sometimes I would hunt for rare curiosities 
among the coral reefs along the shore. Usually about an 
hour before sundown I would return richly laden with 
spoil to the rest-house, when another hour would be spent 



]46 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

in attending to the objects I had collected : skinning and 
preparing the animals I had shot, pressing plants, etc. 
Thus it would be eight o'clock before I was ready for 
dinner, the second meal of consequence. Here again the 
chief dish would be the inevitable "carry and rice." It 
was followed by fish or crabs, both of which I relished im- 
mensely. Then followed farinaceous dishes, after which 
delicious fruits concluded the meal. Belligam is of course 
well supplied with fish of all sorts. One of the finest is 
the Seir fish (Cylium gut latum), a large flat thorny finned 
fish belonging to the mackerel or Scomleridce family. 
The Cataphracti. Squamipennes, and Labroides families 
also furnished savory representatives. Less deserving of 
praise were the curious ray-fish and sharks, of which huge 
examples were daily exposed for sale in the fish-market. 
In trying to render these "primary fishes" — the ancestors 
of the higher vertebrates (man included) — palatable by 
pungent pepper sauces, Babua evidently reckoned on the 
peculiar philo-genetic interest they might have for me. 

From this menu the indulgent reader may infer that I 
was in a fair way of becoming a vegetarian. True, Socra- 
tes on several occasions sought to delight me with what 
he considered extra dainties: beefsteak and mutton chops. 
But I forbear to mention my suspicions concerning the 
true nature of the animal to which I was indebted for these 
special delicacies. 

The lack of European meat diet was occasionally supplied 
by the results of a successful hunting expedition. First 
among the relishes thus obtained was roast ape; this noble 
game is exceedingly palatable either roasted or stewed in 
vinegar. The flesh of the flying fox is not so appetizing; 
it has a peculiar musk-like odor. The flesh of the giant 
lizard {Monitor dracaina) can scarcely be distinguished 
from veal; while the snake soup is very like a soup made 
of eels. Among the various birds which were used as sub- 
stitutes for domestic fowl were wild pigeons and ducks, 
crows and herons. If to these are added the different 
" frutti di mare" — the piquant fruits of the sea — mussels, 
snails, sea-urchins, holothures, etc., the bill of fare at 
Belligam maybe said to offer a greater variety than one 
would at first suppose. 

In addition to these native products Mr. Scott had 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 147 

kindly furnished me with all sorts of European conserves, 
Scotch marmalade, Liebig's extracts, etc., as well as a 
generous supply of liquors. At first the important que s 
tion of what to drink seemed a difficult one to answc v. 
Although the highlands of Ceylon are abundantly supplied 
with pare spring water, the drinking water of the low- 
lands is bad and very unwholesome. The copious rahu 
which deluge the island every day wash masses of earth 
and vegetable remains into the rivers, whose waters in 
many places communicate with stagnant lagoons. Conse- 
quently the water used for drinking purposes is always 
boiled, made into weak tea, or mixed with wine or whiskey. 
My friend Scott had sent me a generous quantity of the 
latter beverage, but I preferred cocoanut milk, which I 
found agreeable and refreshing as well as wholesome. 

My frugal dinner happily over, I would ramble along the 
deserted seashore, or enjoy the illumination of the cocoa- 
grove by the myriads of glow-worms and fireflies. Then I 
would write a few lines in my note-book, or try to read by 
the dim light of my cocoa-oil lamp. Usually by nine 
o'clock extreme weariness would compel me to seek my 
couch — after the clothes-shaking process of the morning had 
been repeated. The large black scorpions (six inches long) 
are so numerous that I once collected a half dozen in an 
hour's time. Snakes also abound in great numbers. The 
pretty green whip-snakes hang everywhere from i he- 
branches of the trees, and huge rat-snakes (Coryphoclon 
Mumeiibacliii) at night chase the rats and mice over the 
roof. Although they are perfectly harmless it is by no 
means a pleasant sensation to have a snake five feet long 
suddenly drop through a hole in the roof, and occasionally 
on your bed. However my nights were rarely disturbed 
by the various beasties of Belligam, except occasionally by 
the howl of a jackal, the dismal cry of the devil-bird (;;n 
owl, Sifrnium indrani), or some other night bird. The 
tinkling notes of the dainty little tree frog, whose habitat 
is in the cup of a large flower, was a soothing lullaby. 
More frequently the play of my own thoughts would drive 
slumber from my eyes. Recollections of past experiences 
and enjoyments and anticipations of those to come would 
crowd my brain. In long and brilliant succession the 
motley scenes of the past weeks would flit before me, and 



148 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

captivating plans for the morrow be devised. My attempts 
at photography and sketching in water colors, as well as 
my work in the zoological laboratory, gradually brought 
me into closer relations with the bronze-hued Belligamians, 
the majority of whom are pure Singhalese. The very first 
week of my sojourn in the village I was called upon to 
assist the " native doctor" perform several surgical opera- 
tions, which were happily successful. My reputation as 
skilled surgeon soon assumed such exaggerated proportions 
that I would gladly have transferred the brilliant (if not 
profitable) practice to one of my worthy colleagues in 
Germany. I was even reputed to be a conjurer that could 
brew magic potions from certain plants and extract gold 
from different sea animals. The most astonishing de- 
mands were made on my black art. Old and young would 
follow me in crowds whenever I rambled through the vil- 
lage or its surroundings, and behold in everything I did 
some mysterious witchcraft. 

As I mentioned before, the trade in natural curiosities 
became a very interesting and profitable feature of my resi- 
dence in Belligam. Among the various articles of barter I 
had brought with me, the iron instruments, knives, scis- 
sors, tongs, hammers, etc., were especially coveted; also 
glass beads, colored stones, and similar articles of adornment. 
But the highest worth was given — and it speaks well for 
the artistic perceptions of the Singhalese — to the highly- 
colored illustrations, of which I had brought two or three 
hundred. These works of art, the familiar favorites of our 
children (the celebrated Bilderhogen aus Neu-Ruppin, 
Schon zu haben, lei Gustav Kilhn; Stuck fur Stuck, filnf 
pfennig !), met with an exceedingly favorable reception in 
Belligam, and I was only sorry that I had not laid in a 
larger supply. As gifts to the important personages they 
were also very acceptable, and I could offer nothing better 
in return for the heaps of cocoanuts, bananas, mangoes, and 
other luscious fruits which were daily sent to the rest- 
house. Soon all the more imposing huts in the village 
were decorated with one or more of these productions of 
German art. Indeed, several chiefs from neighboring vil- 
lages brought me offerings of fruit and flowers in order to 
secure some of the coveted pictures. The subjects most ap- 
proved by my dusky patrons were those appurtenant to the 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 149 

military: Prussian ulans, Austrian hussars, French arlil- 
lery, English marines, etc. The second choice embodied 
theatrical scenes, such as Titania and Oberon, The 
White Lady, Somnambula, and Wagner's Nibe lun gen Eing. 
The third choice comprised domestic animals: horses, 
cows, sheep. The fourth and last was for genre pictures 
and landscapes, the more gorgeous the better. 

This mutual present-giving soon established the friend- 
liest relations between me and the inhabitants of Bellignm; 
and when I walked or rode in my bullock cart through the 
Tillage I was constantly bowing right and left in response 
to the respectful salutations of my dusky friends. In my 
walks through the Singhalese villages I was always struck 
by the absence .of the fair sex; even among the children 
playing in the streets the boys formed by all odds the 
greater number. The girls are early accustomed to house- 
hold work; they fade very young, are married at ten or 
twelve years of age, and become old women at twenty or 
thirty. Grandmothers of twenty-five and thirty are not in- 
frequent. A further significant fact is the disproportion 
between the male and female births: ten boys on an aver- 
age are born to eight or nine girls. Here the fairer sex is 
in the minority, and it is also the least attractive. The 
disproportion between the sexes is due, to some extent, to 
the remarkable institution of Polyandry. In spite of the 
efforts made by the English Government to suppress this 
custom it is still practised, and is probably increasing — 
particularly in the more remote parts of the island. It is 
not unusual to find two or three brothers with one wife in 
common, and there are ladies who rejoice in the possession 
of from eight to twelve husbands. These complicated 
family relations and their consequences form the theme of 
many extraordinary stories, but it is of course difficult to 
separate fact from fiction. 

Old Socrates, with whom I once discussed the custom of 
Polyandry, astonished me by a novel theory of transmission 
that is sufficiently remarkable to be mentioned here. Al- 
though it is not to be found among the different laws of 
transmission, mentioned in the ninth chapter of my Nat- 
ural History of the Creation, it is so original that the fol- 
lowers of Darwin cannot help but be interested in it. First, 
I must premise that Socrates was a son of the Kandyan 



150 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

highlands, and — according to his account — a worthy mem- 
ber of the highest caste. Consequently, he looked with su- 
preme contempt on the inhabitants of Belligam, among 
whom he had lived for -several years, and with whom he was 
plainly not on friendly terms. The very first day he warned 
me to beware of them, and enumerated a number of their 
most repulsive faults. " Of course," he added abruptly, 
shrugging his shoulders, " their baseness is not to be won- 
dered at; for you must know, sir, that every one of these 
lowland people had several fathers, and as a number of evil 
qualities was inherited from every one of the sires, the de- 
terioration of the race is quite natural !" 

Such universal depravity of course made me doubtful as 
to the propriety of remaining in Belligam, but I was as- 
sured by the worthy steward of the rest-house that he was to 
be trusted, and that I might confidently depend on his 
being a perfectly upright and honest man. I was considera- 
bly surprised when, shortly afterwards, the first head man 
called on me, and in the strictest confidence repeated almost 
the same words. I was enlightened as to the real character 
of the Belligamians after I had heard the same story, with 
different variations, from the half dozen or more important 
personages whose visits followed that of their chief. 

The shadow which these remarkable communications cast 
on the imaginary paradisal innocence of the untutored Sin- 
ghalese, became all the more gloomy when the "judge" (or, 
as he preferred to be called, the " President of the Chamber 
of Justice,") informed me with a sigh that he had to work 
harder than any one in the village, and that his judicial 
labors occupied the entire day. Indeed, I found the hall of 
justice (an open shed like the schoolhouse) almost always 
filled with villagers intent upon securing their rights. It 
was rather comforting to hear that a majority of the cases 
were slander, cheating, and stealing — particularly the latter. 
An inherent partiality for what does not belong to him 
characterizes the Singhalese. He is also a liar of the high- 
est degree, but no friend of violent deeds. Corporeal inju- 
ries and manslaughter are of infrequent occurrence. Mur- 
der is almost unknown. In fact the more active passions 
rarely appear; the Singhalese temperament is, on the whole, 
decidedly phlegmatic. 

The Singhalese are extremely fond of music and dancing, 



IXDIA AND CEYLON. 151 

both of a kind that would be little to the European taste. 
The principal instruments are drums and tom-toms, vigor- 
ously beaten with wooden clubs, reed-pipes, and a primitive 
instrument with a single string (monochord). Evenings, 
when I heard the ear-splitting noise of these instruments, 
and would follow the sound, I would be sure to find before 
a fire, under a group of palms, a troop of a half dozen or 
more naked brown fellows who had fantastically painted 
themselves with white, yellow, and red stripes, jumping 
about and cutting the most extraordinary capers. Around 
them in a wide circle squatted the delighted audience, 
watching the grotesque performance with the greatest inter- 
est. About Christmas time (which is also the Buddhist 
New Year) these evening "devil-dances" are of more fre- 
quent occurrence, and are of peculiar religious signification. 
The principal performers then are fantastically decorated 
with colored feathers, wear horns and long tails, to the 
great delight of the village youth. Whole troops of these 
jumping and howling demons, accompanied by music, pa- 
rude through the village all day long, while the nightly revels 
frequently develop into unseemly orgies. 

A peculiar Buddhist feast had been prepared on the 19th 
of December by the chief of Dena-Pitya, a neighboring vil- 
lage. I was invited as a guest of honor, and was escorted 
to the festal scene by an imposing procession of Demi- 
Pi tyans. A dozen old, close-shaven Buddhist priests in 
yellow growns received me under the branches of an im- 
mense sacred fig tree, and conducted me, amid the most ex- 
traordinary chanting, into the temple, which was tastefully 
dtcorated with w r reaths and garlands. Here, the large 
image of Buddha, also profusely adorned with fragrant blos- 
soms, was shown to me, and the signification of the paint- 
ings on the w r alls (scenes from the life of the god) amply ex- 
pounded. Then I was conducted to a throne that had been 
prepared for me under a shady group of banana trees op- 
posite the temple, and now the real performance be«an. A 
band of five tom-tom beaters and as many pipers began 
an uproar which was enough to move the rocks; at the same 
moment two dancers on stilts twelve feet long made their 
appearance and performed the most wonderful evolutions. 
At intervals the daughters of the chief, black-haired, 
voluptuous girls from twelve to twenty years old, carried 



152 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

around the refreshments: toddy or palm wine in cocoanut 
shells, sweetmeats and fruits. Unfortunately I could not 
understand a single word of the flowery oration delivered 
to me by the chief, but I guessed its purport to be the 
honor I had conferred on Dena-Pitya by my visit. The 
same was expressed in pantomime by a band of ten naked, 
gaudily-painted, and fantastically- adorned devil-dancers 
that capered madly around my throne. When at last to- 
wards sundown I took leave of my entertainers, and sought 
my bullock cart I found that it had been filled to over- 
flowing by the hospitable Dena-Pityans with the most beau- 
tiful bananas and cocoanuts. 

Scarcely was my role of honored guest at a genuine 
Buddhist feast concluded when the very next day I was 
called on to perform a similar part in the annual fes- 
tivities of the Wesleyan Mission at Belligam. The follow- 
ing morning (Dec. 20th) the president of the mission at 
Point de Galle unexpectedly made his appearance at the 
rest-house, and informed me that a distribution of prizes 
among the scholars of the mission school at Belligam 
would take place that day, and that I could render no great- 
er service to the good cause than by distributing the prizes 
among the children. In spite of all resistance I was at last 
obliged to yield. If I had rendered homage yesterday to 
immortal Buddha, to-day I must pay due respect to the ex- 
cellent Mr. Wesley. .Accordingly, in the afternoon I re- 
paired to the public schoolhouse where perhaps one hun- 
dred and fifty children dressed in white were assembled ; 
some were from Belligam, and some from the neighboring 
villages. The exercises began with a number of hymns — a 
performance that did not impress me very favorably with 
the musical abilities of the dusky schoolmaster. To me 
it seemed as if the one hundred and fifty children (about 
ninety boys and sixty girls) sang at least fifty different mel- 
odies, and atoned for the want of harmony by the strength 
of their voices. The examination in biblical history and 
English grammar which followed was very satisfactory, 
as were also the specimens of drawing and writing — espec- 
ially when all the circumstances of this Cevlon paradise 
were considered. Then the Reverend Mr. N. delivered a 
formal lecture, at the conclusion of which he asked me 
to distribute the thirty prizes among the most diligent 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 153 

scholars. As I called the names from the list he gave me, 
the fortunate little Singhalese would come forward with 
beaming faces, and, bowing low before me, receive the re- 
ward for their industry, an English book or an illustrated 
primer. The ceremonies concluded with an entertainment 
of coffee and cakes. My friends in Galle and Colombo, 
whom the newspapers informed of my extraordinary per- 
formances, were greatly amused. 

But the most remarkable celebration I attended while in 
Belligam was the burial of an aged Buddha priest on iho 
13th of January. While the common people here are sim- 
ply buried (in the gardens behind their houses, or in the 
nearest cocoa-grove), the priests alone share the honor of he- 
ing consumed by fire. The priest to be burned on this oc- 
casion was the oldest and most distinguished in the com- 
munity; accordingly the funeral pyre of palm stems was 
erected near the principal temple. After the body, which 
rested on a flower-adorned bier, had been carried, amid 
solemn chanting, through the village, a band of young 
Buddha priests in yellow robes hoisted it to the top of t he 
funeral pile which was about thirty feet high. The four 
corners of the pyre were supported by four cocoa-palms, be- 
tween which was stretched canopy like a large white cloth. 
After the conclusion of various ceremonies, solemn dirges 
and prayer, the pile at five o'clock was lighted amidst the 
most deafening tom-tom uproar. A crowd of several thou- 
sand people watched the burning pile with expectant inter- 
est, and when the flames seized and devoured the muslin 
canopy a loud, jubilant cry went up from every throat — 
the soul of the burning priest had taken its flight to heaven. 
This was the signal for the inauguration of more cheerful 
ceremonies. Rice cakes and palm wine were distributed 
among the crowd, and a merry carousal followed that was 
kept up around the burning pyre the greater part of the 
night. 

Aside from these celebrations and several excursions into 
the more distant parts of the country around Belligam, t he 
pleasant routine of my retired life was seldom interrupted. 
Now and then an English Government official on a tour of 
inspection would spend a few hours, or the night at the 
rest-house. Less agreeable visitors were several Singhalese 
schoolmasters w r ho had been attracted by the reputation of 



154 INDIA AND CEYLON 

my laboratory. They came from a distant part of the prov- 
ince, introduced themselves as colleagues of mine, and 
wanted to know and see everything I could tell and show 
them. Of course I am only a schoolmaster myself, and 
cherish an unbounded reverence for my caste; but the pe- 
culiar species of the Prceceptor Singhalensis with which I 
came in contact here was, I confess, very little to my 
taste. I was heartily glad when the importunate and con- 
ceited as well as ignorant fellows took their departure. 
Later I made the acquaintance of several more agreeable 
and better-informed examples of the same genera. 

The most remarkable of all the numerous visits I re- 
ceived while in Belligam surprised me about Christmas- 
time. I returned late one evening very tired from a distant 
excursion to Boralu, and was met at the gate in front of 
the rest-house by Socrates, who informed me in a mysterious 
whisper that four strange ( 'ladies" were waiting to see me. 
Sure enough, in the dimly-lighted dining-room I found four 
representatives of the gentler sex, clad in European costume, 
but with execrable taste. I was considerably startled when 
the flickering lamp-light revealed four wrinkled old faces — 
each homelier than the other. Had there been but three 
I should have at once decided that my visitors were the 
three Phorkyades from the classic Walpurgisnacht, and — 
after the manner of Mephistopheles — would have made 
some flattering remarks. But this was spared me by the 
eldest of the four bronze graces (she was at least fifty!) ris- 
ing and saying, in a polite, dignified manner and fairly 
good English, that she and her sisters were the knowledge- 
seeking daughters of a neighboring chief, and that their 
great-grandfather had been a D utchman. They were greatly 
interested in science, and were anxious to inspect my col- 
lections, instruments, etc. I begged them to come again] 
the following day, when I would gratify their thirst fur 
information. 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 155 

XIII. 
Basamuna and Mirissa. 

The immediate surroundings of Belligam, as well as the 
more distant hill country, abounds in enchanting pictures, 
and displays the idyllic and at the same time magnificent 
tropical character of South-west Ceylon in its greatest per- 
fection. The numerous excursions I made in different 
directions, generally in company with Ganymede and 
William, are among my most agreeable recollections. 

The lovely harbor of Belligam in situation, extent, and 
outline is almost exactly like that of Point de Galle; only 
the former is about one third the larger. Both harbors 
form a half-circle that opens towards the south, and is 
sheltered On either side by a rocky promontory. The radius 
of the half-circle at Belligam is perhaps something more 
than a nautical mile; at Galle it is a trifle less. The dis- 
tance from promontory to promontory at the mouth of the 
Gt.lle harbor is a mile and a half; at Belligam, only one 
mile. The westerly projection, which in Galle is occupied 
by the fort, in Belligam forms Basamuna Point — an exceed- 
ingly picturesque group of hills whose dark red cliffs are 
ornamented with clumps of the most remarkable pandanus 
trees. The eastern promontory, which in both places juts 
farther into the ocean and is the higher, in Galle contains 
the "watering-place," and in Belligam the charming 
groves of Mirissa. 

The striking resemblance between these two bodies of 
water is increased by the similarity of their white sand 
beaches, both of which are shaded by magnificent cocoa- 
groves, and interspersed with red and brown rock masses. 
Here and there you catch a glimpse of the blue mountains 
in the distant highlands; among them the ever-conspicuous 
landmarks, the Haycock and Adam's Peak. Even in their 
wonderful coral formation are Galle and Belligam harbors 
alike. 

As the largest and finest coral banks of Galle encircle 
the fort at the foot of the westerly promontory, so in Bel- 
l.gam they surround the craggy foot of Basamuna. The 
coral banks of Belligam are not so extensive as those of 



156 INDIA AND CEYLON 

Guile, but its harbor is much deeper and less obstructed by 
dangerous reefs. It is therefore difficult to understand 
why the splendid and commodious harbor of Belligam has 
not long ago become important for navigation, and why a 
proud and flourishing commercial city has not taken the 
place of the insignificant fishing village. Had I to estab- 
lish a colony in India I would go nowhere else but to 
Belligemma! 

Basamuna Point was my favorite promenade while I re- 
mained in Belligam. Afternoons, between four and five 
o'clock, after I had finished my zoological tasks, and care- 
fully disposed of the marine treasures in alcohol which I 
had secured during the morning, I would hastily lock the 
microscope and anatomical instruments in their cupboard, 
and sling the cartridge box and botanical case around 
Ganymede's shoulders. William would carry the gun and 
butterfly nets, and I would take charge of the water-color 
utensils and sketch-book. The Basamuna cliffs are only 
half a mile distant from the rest-house, which, by the way, 
stands at the southern extremity of the village on the 
western side of the bay. The nearest way to the point is 
along the strand, past some isolated fishing huts, and then 
along the verge of the cocoa-forest. Here the incessant 
motion of the sea undermines the loamy shore, and every 
year causes the destruction of many noble cocoa-palms; 
their bleached corpses protrude from the water, and the 
brown root-tufts at the end of the stems, uplifted and 
washed clean by the waves, look like so many hairy heads. 
A multitude of crabs, common and hermit ( Omj2)ode and 
Pagurus) animate the sands; here the latter do not bury 
their hinder parts in the deserted shell of the sea-snail, but 
prefer the more stately, red-lipped habitation of the large 
palm-snail {Helix lmmastoma). When the ebb tide is very 
low one may clamber around the foot of the steep cliffs at the 
point, over the exposed coral rocks, among which the reced- 
ing waters have left a number of interesting sea animals: 
snails, mussels, sea-urchins, and stars. When the tide is 
in one must go through the palm-grove, in which are scat- 
tered native huts with their usual adornments of bread- 
fruit and banana trees. 

Emerging suddenly from the grove you are surprised by 
the utter solitude and wildness of the scene before you: 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 157 

there are the dark red porphyry cliffs of Basamuna Point, 
savage crags, rent and cloven, at whose foot the raging 
surf flings its foamy spray high into the air. The crown 
of the rocky ridge is almost covered with screw-palms or 
pandanus shrubs, of such fantastic shapes t and grotesque 
grouping that only the wildest fancies of a Gustave Dore 
could equal them. Like powerful serpents their stems 
curve and twist about each other, below resting on multi- 
tudes of long slender roots, above branched and forked like 
candelabra, their jagged arms uplifted towards heaven as if 
in imprecation, each arm terminating in a screw-shaped 
tuft of leaves. By the light of the full moon this ghost- 
like company with its long weird shadows is indeed a 
startling sight, and one can readily understand why the 
superstitious Singhalese cannot be persuaded to approach 
it. I must confess that even I — notwithstanding the as- 
suring presence of a double-barrelled gun and a revolver — 
felt decidedly uncomfortable once between ten and eleven 
o'clock at night when I clambered around in this witch- 
like thicket, all the more so because Ganymede had pit- 
eouslv besought me not to venture near it. A brisk west 
wind flung the silvery foam of the surf with a noise like 
thunder high against the sombre cliffs, and chased a whole 
host of gloomy clouds across the sky. The fleeting shadows 
of these clouds and the magical light of the full moon, 
gave to the quivering foliage and tangled branches an effect 
than which it would be impossible to imagine one more 
uncanny. 

After you have forced your way through the pandanus 
thicket, and walked out on the projecting cliffs at the 
point, you will see on your left the entrance to Belligam 
Bay, and far to the south the cocoa-palms of the distant 
Mirissa Point; on the right you will behold a graceful 
curve of shore fringed with palms, and beyond another 
rocky point which juts into the water to the north of this 
stretch of beach, a lovely island overgrown with shrubbery. 
Of the village from which we are separated by several 
wooded hills there is nothing to be seen, and no trace of 
human existence mars the impression of absolute seclusion 
and solitude that lingers about this enchanted ocean-look- 
out. Free and unhindered the glance from here flies 
across the immeasurable stretch of water, and meets with 



158 INDIA AND CEYLON 

terra firma only after it has traveled thirty degrees towards 
the west, a land that in every particular is the antipode of 
our luxuriant surroundings — the arid, plantlesscoast of the 
Abyssinian Somali negroes. But our thoughts will fly still 
farther towards the north-west, for the radiant sun bends 
lower and lower towards the violet horizon, and the witch- 
ing hour of five draws near; "die hehre Stunde, da mit 
stillem Selmen der feme Schiffer an die theure Heimath 
denkt." Homeward fly our thoughts to dear Thuringia, and 
to all the faithful hearts now gathered around the evening 
lamp or cheerful fire, and perhaps speaking of the wanderer 
in distant India, while deep snows cover the hills and val- 
leys with a fleecy mantle. What a contrast to our sur- 
roundings! The glowing sun now sinks into the ocean and 
floods the red cliffs on which we stand with a veritable 
sea of flame. How delicate and airy are the rosy evening 
clouds, and how lovely the gilded strand with its fringe of 
stately palms! But we have scarcely time to follow the 
brilliant play of color, its rapid change of tints, when it has 
vanished, and the brief twilight follows so quickly in its 
wake that it is quite dark before we have carefully wended 
our way through the palm-grove back to the rest-house. 

Similar and yet different from the attractions of Basa- 
muna are those of the opposing point, charming Mirissa. 
To reach this point in a sail-boat requires, if the breeze is 
favorable, less than a quarter of an hour; but if you walk 
along the shore around the bay several hours are necessary, 
for you will have to cross the mouth of the Polwatta River, 
which flows into the bay at its north-east corner. It was 
a wonderfully bright morning (Jan. 6th), when I sailed 
across to Mirissa, supplied with provisions for the whole 
day, as I expected to make several excursions from that 
point. The little fishing village of Mirissa — the "mussel- 
village" which stretches along the foot of the promontory, 
takes its name from the multitudes of mussels and oysters 
which cover the rocks along the shore. A large shoal of 
fish (similar to the anchovy) engaged the attention of the 
inhabitants as we approached the village. All the availa- 
ble canoes were distributed among the shoal, and old and 
young were busy with small hand-nets securing as many 
fish as possible. We doubled the picturesque cape, against 
whose mighty cliffs the surf dashed furiously, sailed a mile 



IXDIA AXD CEYLOX. \£Q 

or so farther along the shore, and landed in a sheltered 
little cove. Accompanied by Ganymede I climbed to the 
top of the promontory, and rambled through the beauti- 
ful grove, whose stately trees (chiefly cedars and termi- 
nalia) were festooned with exquisite climbing plants. 
[Numerous apes and parrots enlivened the grove, but they 
were too shy for me to get a shot at them. When towards 
midday we returned to the shore, I noticed near the boat 
a group of natives; the stately chief at their head, a hand- 
some man of perhaps forty years, with a gentle, prepossess- 
ing countenance, approached me, and in the most respect- 
ful manner presented me with a basket that was filled with 
mangoes, bananas, oranges, and other noble fruits from his 
garden, and wreathed with fragrant jasmine, plumiera, and 
oleander blossoms. With as much cordiality as modeMy 
he begged me to eat my lunch in his hut instead of under 
the cocoa shade on the shore. After I had thanked him 
and accepted his hospitable offer he sent some of his peo- 
ple forward to prepare for me, while William and two of 
my boatmen followed with our provisions. I myself took 
a refreshing bath in the ocean. 

In about an hour the chief returned accompanied by a 
number of the prettiest children, who were adorned with 
flowers, and led me along a winding path through the cocoa- 
grove to a part of the village I had not noticed before. 
Through a neat garden whose path was strewn with flowers 
we reached the chief's rather imposing residence, built en- 
tirely of bamboo canes, and covered with palm leaves. The 
entrance was decorated in the manner so well understood by 
the Singhalese with ornaments of braided palm splints. 
Under the projecting roof, which formed a shady veranda 
in front of the hut, a large table had been improvised of 
palm stems and boards, and covered with fresh banana 
leaves. On it was tastefully arranged the luncheon we 
had brought from the rest-house, together with large dishes 
of rice and curry, fresh oysters, bananas, and cocoanuts — 
the gifts of our generous host. The splendid appetite with 
which I attacked these tempting viands (it had been sharp- 
ened by my long ramble and refreshing bath in .the sea) was 
not in the least diminished by the fact that, during the 
entire meal, the chiefs numerous family stood around the 
table and watched my every movement with intense in- 



160 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

terest, while the rest of the bronze-hued villagers looked on 
with equal interest from their more distant station in 
the garden. 

At the conclusion of this original repast, which had been 
nectar and ambrosia to my keen appetite, my friendly host 
requested me to inscribe my name and that of my country 
on the palm leaf he had fastened above the doorway. Then 
he introduced his family — at least sixteen children, each 
one prettier and more attractive than the other. The older 
ones alone were partly clad, while the younger members of 
the family wore merely a piece of twine around the loins, 
on which, in front, hung a silver coin symbolical of cloth- 
ing. Arms and legs were ornamented with silver bangles. 

Here I beheld the most perfect types of the Singhalese 
form, and the sight was all the more interesting from the 
fact that the inhabitants of this part of the coast are 
famous for their pure, unmixed Singhalese blood. The 
elegant and voluptuous forms of the elder girls, whose feet 
and hands were conspicuously small, represented a large 
proportion of the thirty-two attributes which, according to 
the Singhalese poets, are necessary for perfect beauty — above 
all long, black, curly hair, almond-shaped eyes, swelling 
lips, bosom like young cocoanuts, etc. The complex- 
ion is cinnamon-brown in all its different shades; the 
younger children are the lighter. The fortunate mother 
of these sixteen handsome children (a stout smiling matron 
of perhaps forty) was highly gratified when William inter- 
preted for her benefit the aesthetic admiration I expressed 
for her domestic felicity. 

In the afternoon the chief and his elder sons conducted 
me to a small Buddha temple, some distance from the vil- 
lage, beside which stands a Bo-tree said to be very ancient. 
I found this specimen of the sacred fig a magnificent fel- 
low indeed, beside whom all the rest of the trees in the grove 
were but mere saplings. His mighty trunk branches into 
two powerful arms, from whose shoulders depends a lovely 
green mantle of lianas. Other closely-interwoven climbers 
cover his trunk, beside which the diminutive temple looks 
like the habitation of a dwarf. The grounds around it are 
embellished with ornamental plants, among which the sin- 
gular Amorphophallus is conspicuous by its crimson spadix 
and huge tuft of tattered foliage. 



INDIA AND CEYION. 161 

It was late in the afternoon before I returned to Mirissa, 
where I found another repast of bananas and cocoa milk 
awaiting me. The entire population escorted me to the 
shore, where I reluctantly bade adieu to my generous hosts, 
who, during our brief acquaintance, had exhibited all the 
most amiable qualities of the Singhalese character. I was 
very sorry I had not brought some picture books with which 
to emphasize my gratitude more substantially; in lieu of 
them I presented the chief, with a pocket-knife and one of 
the large jars I had with me for the reception of captured 
sea animals. Shortly before sundown we again doubled 
Mirissa Point, and at the entrance to Belligam harbor were 
greeted by a sight I shall never forget. On the eastern 
shore of the harbor, above Mirissa Point, towers, bastion- 
like, a row of perpendicular cliffs, of shapely form, whose 
reddish tint, even in the customary light of day, vies with 
the intense hue of fresh-baked bricks. From them is de- 
rived the local name of ^the bay, the "Bed Bay" of the 
ancient charts. Now, in the light of the setting sun, they 
glowed like coals of fire, while their shadows were the most 
brilliant cobalt blue. I understood why the Mirissa people 
spoke of them as the "red lamps," " Ratu-Pana". The 
eastern sky above these rocks of fire was a pale green, while 
the cloud masses heaped along the horizon were tinted 
with the most exquisite roseate hues. Add to these the 
warm brown of the cocoa and pandanus groves, the deepest, 
darkest green and violet of the shimmering water, and you 
have a color-concert of the highest class, such as I never 
saw before and never expect to see again. The hasty color- 
sketch I made of it while in the boat will serve merely to 
recall the magnificent spectacle, and yet what would the 
Berlin art-critics say to such a display of color? — those 
wise judges who condemn every picture that fails to con- 
form in coloring and composition to the meagre and defec- 
tive standard of North Germany! "Were they not unani- 
mous in their condemnation of Ernst Koerner's splendid 
picture, in which the daring artist represents a sunset in 
Alexandria as brilliantly as it is true to nature? And yet 
the latter bears the same relation to the gorgeous spec- 
tacle of Mirissa as the scant vegetation of Egypt does to 
the wanton exuberance of Ceylon. However what will not 
bloom along the Spree may not be found in India ! Were 



i62- India and getloN. 

not many of Edouard Hildebrand's color- effects pronounced 
"exaggerated," when "too weak" might have been more 
properly applied? But enchanting natural exhibitions 
like these must be seen to be appreciated. 



XIV. 

KOGALLA AKD BOEALU. 

Amoi^g the more distant excursions I undertook from 
Belligam into the surrounding country, those to Kogalla 
and Boralu are recalled with greatest pleasure, and are of 
sufficient interest to deserve brief mention. Among the 
numerous extensive lagoons along the south-west coast of 
Ceylon which connect many of the rivers debouching on 
the sea between Colombo and Matura, Kogalla- Weioa, the 
" Eocky Lake," is distinguished by extraordinary size and 
picturesque beauty. This lagoon lies half way between 
Point de Galle and Belligam, and is of considerable extent, 
as numerous arms stretch in different directions. Its banks 
everywhere form densely-wooded hills, above which rise 
the crests of multitudes of cocoa-palms. Numbers of tiny 
islands, some of them bare rocks, and some covered with 
palm-grove or jungle, lend a peculiar charm to the diversi- 
fied scenery, as do also the idyllic habitations of the Sin- 
ghalese, which are scattered in groups and singly through- 
out the verdant thickets. The vegetation is of a crisp 
freshness that cannot be surpassed. It was a lovely Sunday 
morning (December 18th) when I took my departure from 
Belligam before sunrise, in order to reach Kogalla in good 
season. My hospitable friend from Point de Galle, Mr. 
Scott, whom I was to meet at Kogalla, had sent a servant 
with a light wagon and fleet pony to fetch me from Belli- 
gam; and as we drove swiftly through the primitive villages 
along the Galle road the indolent inhabitants were just 
rising from their palm couches and preparing for a morn- 
ing bath. Directly the young sunbeams penetrated the 
dew-bespangled groves they became alive with sound and 
motion, and I enjoyed anew the delicious morning life of 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 163 

the tropics which had so often before enchanted me. My 
arrival at the place of appointment preceded the time 
agreed upon by a whole hour; I had, therefore, sufficient 
time for a leisurely ramble through the beautiful grove. 
"With Mr. Scott came another German countryman, Herr 
Eeimer, a native of Hamburg, at present engaged in mer- 
cantile business in India. He had been on a pleasure ex- 
cursion to Bombay, and was on his way back to Singapore, 
when chance willed that he should favor us with his com- 
pany the day before he set sail for that busy port. We 
drove a short distance farther through the palm gardens, 
and stopped at a hut on the bank of the Kogalla Lake. 
Here, a double canoe, that had been tastefully decorated 
by its Singhalese crew with garlands of flowers and a 
canopy of braided palm leaves, was waiting for us. These 
double boats, which are in great favor on the lagoons as 
well as on the larger rivers, are constructed of two hollow 
parallel logs, from sixteen to twenty feet long, with a space 
of five or six feet between them. Stout planks are fastened 
on them, and over these are laid boards. Eight and left 
are the slender stems of young areca palms which support 
a canopy of pandanus mats. Leaves of the fan-palm are 
stretched curtain- wise between the supports. The benches, 
which are ranged along both sides of this floating arbor, 
offer a shady seat from which one may comfortably view the 
surrounding lake scenery. Six or eight powerful oarsmen 
squat in the hollow logs, either in front or in the rear of 
the platform. 

The narrow arm of the lagoon from which we sailed 
opens into the more extensive basin through a gateway 
formed by three immense cliffs. These granite blocks are 
called the "Three Brothers" (Tunamalaja), and are the 
favorite resort for numerous large crocodiles. No swimmer 
would be allowed to pass unharmed between these hideous 
sentinels, who lie here all day long sunning themselves with 
widely-gaping jaws. 

The lagoon is encircled by dense forests, beyond which 
rise smiling hills covered with palms. But the principal 
charm of the lagoon is its pretty little islands decked with 
cocoa- palms. The slender, gracefully-curved white stems 
incline in every direction, so that those nearest the shore 
are reflected entire in the waveless surface of the lake. 



164 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

while those farther inland stand proudly upright with their 
feathered crests raised towards heaven, A perfect model 
of such a cocoa bouquet is the charming little Gan-Duva, 
which lie's in the harbor of Belligam immediately in front 
of the rest-house. 

We landed on a little cocoa island of this sort in Kogalla 
Lake, to pay a visit to the happy family living in the midst 
of the lovely palm bouquet. Three naked children, who had 
been frolicking among the rocks along the shore, at our 
approach ran screaming with terror towards their mother. 
The handsome young matron, with a fourth child in her 
arms, seemed also alarmed by the strange visitors, and hur- 
ried with her little ones into the bamboo hut. Her hus- 
band, who had been digging sweet potatoes in the garden, 
now appeared. The shapely, handsome fellow — he was en- 
tirely naked except the narrow strip of cloth around his 
loins — came forward, and after respectfully saluting us, 
asked whether we would like to refresh ourselves with some 
curwmba (young cocoanuts). On our gratefully assenting 
he immediately climbed one of the tallest palms, and flung 
down half a dozen of the fine golden fruit known here as the 
ff king's cocoanut." The cool, delicious water it contains is 
very like lemonade, and is wonderfully refreshing. Then 
he offered us some luscious bananas on a large caladium leaf, 
and conducted us into his garden, in which he cultivates a 
number of choice tropical plants. In answer to our query 
whether he could grow enough to supply the needs of his 
family for the entire year, he informed us that in addition 
to the products of his garden, he caught fish and crabs in 
the lake, and that he sold enough of these and of the fruits 
and vegetables he could not use, to buy all the rice and 
household articles required by his family — more he did not 
need, or want. Enviable family ! In your little cocoa 
world you live as in a veritable paradise, and no covetous 
neighbor disturbs your happiness and peace ! 

We rowed farther out on the lake to a rock island, from 
whose dense shrubbery peered the white dagoba tower of a 
Buddhist temple. A flight of stone steps leads from the 
shore to the temple, on whose altar devout worshippers had 
scattered offerings of fragrant flowers. The rude wall- 
paintings, as well as the gigantic image of Buddha, are not 
different from those I saw in other Buddhist temples. In 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 165 

the rear of the temple are the habitations of the priests, 
picturesquely situated in the shade of a large Bo-tree, and 
affording a fine view of the lagoon; the red cliffs form 
natural terraces. A couple of tall kitool palms, as well as 
a handsome group of cocoa and areca palms, are as effective 
in the adornment of this charming picture as are the luxu- 
riant vines of all sorts that festoon the crowns of several 
mighty cashew trees (Anacardium). It was intensely hot 
when at noon we rowed back to the chief's hut. The per- 
fectly motionless water reflected the direct rays of the 
glowing sun like polished metal; we were therefore agreea- 
bly surprised to find the temperature in the dusky interior 
of the hut delightfully cool, and enjoyed the elaborate lun- 
cheon which had been prepared for us by Mr. Scott's ser- 
vant with a keen relish. The meal over, and while my 
friends indulged in a siesta, I rowed across the lagoon to 
visit the two large Buddha temples on the opposite shore, 
and to gather some of the splendid orchids and spice lilies 
(Marantacece) growing there. I also enriched my sketch- 
book with several charming subjects, and had to pay for 
the pleasure with my blood, as multitudes of pestiferous 
leeches infest the grass along the shore. 

No less attractive if not so extensive as Kogalla-Wewa, 
is another lagoon, Boralu-Wewa, or " Pebble Lake," which 
I visited several times. I am indebted for the pleasant 
days I spent there to the second head-man of Belligam, the 
excellent Arachy. 

He owns a large tract of land in the immediate vicinity 
of the lagoon, that is planted partly with fruits of various 
kinds and partly with lemon grass, in the cultivation of which 
from thirty to forty laborers are employed. The road to 
Boralu traverses the luxuriant hill country, which stretches 
for many miles to the foot of the mountains. 

The first natural curiosity encountered on this road is a 
mighty cocoa-palm, one mile from Belligam, whose stem 
is divided into three branches, each bearing a crown of 
foliage. This is an abnormity of rare occurrence. The 
second wonder is found a mile farther on, on the hither 
shore of the Polwatta River, .beside a Buddha temple at the 
end of the bridge. It is a magnificent old banyan tree, 
fantastically garlanded with lianas of all sorts. On the 
further shore of the river, near Dena-Pitya (i.e., cattle 



166 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

field), is another huge banyan, a very giant of his order, 
and one of the largest of these most remarkable trees in 
existence. The enormous crown, under which more than a 
hundred huts might find room and shade, is supported by 
multitudes of powerful stems, each one of which would 
deserve admiration were it a single tree. These huge 
trunks are nothing but the air-roots which have grown 
from the branches of the main stem. Between them hang 
numbers of smaller roots which have not yet reached the 
ground, and which elucidate the origin of the numerous 
supports. The densest shadow reigns beneath the leafy 
canopy through which no ray of light ever penetrates; and 
one can readily understand why the superstitious Buddhist 
approaches his sacred fig tree with timid reverence and 
awe. 

A natural curiosity of quite a different order is to be 
found in the village of Dena-Pitya. It is a woman of per- 
haps fifty years, in whom the bones of the thighs are 
entirely wanting. The upper part of her body, which is 
well formed and fully developed, rests on the lower bones 
of the leg. This singular deformity is all the more curious 
from the fact that the woman has borne three well-formed 
children, who, like the mother, have only four toes on each 
foot. Unfortunately a closer investigation is not per- 
mitted. 

If you follow the road eastward from Dena-Pitya for 
several miles you will arrive at the celebrated "gem pits," 
which, in the preceding century, were reputed to have 
been exceedingly productive. At present they seem to be 
exhausted, but a large diamond had been lately found that 
was sold for £400. This, of course, had attracted numbers 
of gem hunters to the deserted pits, and the day I visited 
them, from 160 to 180 laborers were busily washing and 
sifting gravel in the different excavations. 

From Dena-Pitya the road to Boralu trends in a north- 
easterly direction, now through lovely palm-forest, now 
through luxuriant jungle, now across pale green paddy 
fields or marshy meadows, in which black buffaloes with 
their attendant herons wallow in the mud. Several miles 
farther on we come to the lagoon, whose entire shore is 
adorned with the most exuberant vegetation. Around it 
on every side rise densely-wooded hills. A small island, 



INDIA AND CEYLON 167 

also clothed with verdant thicket, lies solitary and alone 
in the middle of the lagoon. But its greatest charm is 
the perfect solitude and absence of all human culture. 
Even the road which skirts its banks does not betray the 
presence of man, for it is quite hidden by the tall shrubbery. 
The lagoon, as well as the adjacent region, is rich in ani- 
mal life. As often as I visited it I found large green lizards 
from six to seven feet long sunning themselves on the 
shore, and once I was startled by an enormous snake 
(Python molurus) about twenty feet long. Unfortunately 
the monster slipped into the water before I could get a 
shot at him. Exciting sport is offered by the apes, whose 
grunts are heard on every side. I shot several fine ex- 
amples of the yellow-brown "rilawa" (Macacus sinicus), 
and the large black wanderoo (Presbytis ceplialoptems). 
But the most fruitful chase was after water-fowl, especially 
the different species of coot, herons, ibis, flamingoes, peli- 
cans, etc. Large flocks of these birds at sundown fly 
across the lagoon to their nightly quarters. I once brought 
down half a dozen in a quarter of an hour. Numbers of 
smaller birds inhabit the thick brushwood along the shore, 
which is profusely adorned with splendid golden cassia 
flowers and the crimson blossoms of the melastoma. 

Not far from the northern extremity of the lagoon, and 
separated from it by one or two wooded hills, lies the 
Arachy's woodland garden, a charming spot in which I 
spent four delightful days. The simple reed hut in which 
I lodged is entirely hidden by banana trees, and stands on 
the slope of a hill, from which there is a fine view of the 
verdant meadows, dark forests, and glimmering lagoons of 
the surrounding country; the distant background is formed 
by the blue mountains of the central highlands. Of the 
laborers' huts scattered throughout the forest there is 
nothing to be seen, and the delightful impression of abso- 
lute solitude is heightened by the unusually rich develop- 
ment of animal life. I shot numbers of beautiful birds, 
apes, flying foxes, lizards, etc., and once a large porcupine 
(Hystrix leuctira) over three feet long. 

Gorgeous butterflies and beetles are also numerous. The 
meadows in the vici»ity of the lagoon are covered with 
gigantic specimens of the curious insectivorous pitcher- 
plant (Nepentlces disiillatoria). The elegant pitchers, 



168 INDIA AND CEYLON 

six inches long at the termination of the leaves, are covered 
with dainty lids, and frequently filled with captive insects. 
Brilliant Amjoelidce and lovely Nectarinice, like the hum- 
ming-birds which they strongly resemble, sport among the 
flowers in great numbers. 

A ramble around the glittering lagoon will lead you 
through the most beautiful part of the woodland. In some 
places the vines which overrun the fallen trees form so im- 
penetrable a barrier that it is utterly impossible to force 
your way through the vegetable chaos without the aid of 
an axe. Aristolochias, pepper-vines, bauhinias, and big- 
nonias everywhere twist and twine among the branches in 
such a manner that only an occasional sunbeam penetrates 
the tangled mass. The trunks of the trees are covered with 
parasitic ferns and orchids. Often I sat for hours intent 
upon securing a copy of this forest picture for my sketch- 
book. Usually, however, my intentions were without re- 
sult, my attempts futile. It was utterly impossible to 
adequately portray the bewildering loveliness of the scene. 
Nor was the photographic camera of any assistance. The 
verdant tangle was so dense, so intricate, that a photograph 
would have reproduced only a confused medley of stems, 
branches, foliage, etc. 

On the slopes of the hills which encircle his garden the 
Arachy cultivates lemon grass, from which, by a simple 
process of distillation, is extracted the odorous lemon-oil, 
a highly-prized perfume. The lemon-like fragrance per- 
fumes the whole neighborhood. The laborers employed in 
the distillery and in cultivating the banana plants, live in 
the tiny huts scattered throughout the grove; groups of 
slender cocoa and areca palms, as well as sturdy kitools and 
talipots, whose feathered crests tower above the lower trees, 
betray the hiding-places of these bamboo habitations. My 
visits to the latter, and friendly intercourse with their 
dusky occupants, made me almost envy the lot of this 
simple and contented nature-folk. They are pure Sin- 
ghalese, with clear bronze complexions and delicate forms. 
The nimble boys were of great assistance to me in collect- 
ing plants and insects, while the graceful black-eyed girls 
decorated my little bullock cart with garlands of flowers. 

When, late in the evening, the swift-footed zebu was 
harnessed, and the two-wheeled cart, in which there was 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 169 

scarcely room for me beside the Arachy, was set in motion, 
it was the special delight of these sprightly children to run 
after us. Frequently a swarm of twenty or thirty of the 
merry elves surrounded our cart, shouting and waving 
palm" leaves. I could not sufficiently admire their persever- 
ance and fleetness of motion. 

When we entered the darkening grove, the boys would 
kindle torches and run in front of the cart to light the 
way. At an abrupt turn of the road we would occasion- 
ally be deluged with a shower of fragrant blossoms, a ripple 
of laughter in the dense shrubbery betraying the pranks 
of the mischievous dryads in hiding there. Among the 
latter was a niece of the Arachy's, whose perfect form might 
have served as a model for a sculptor, while the beauty of 
several of the lads rivalled even that of Ganymede. 

One of the nimble fellows would occasionally swing him- 
self to the pole of our swiftly-rolling cart, then leap dex- 
trously over the zebu. With such performances the Boralu 
children would accompany us a long distance, then vanish 
one by one into the darkness of the night. And now, in- 
stead of the palm torches of our merry escort, myriads of 
fireflies and glow-worms would illumine the forest, while I 
and the Arachy, each busy with his own thoughts, drove 
swiftly toward the quiet rest-house of Belligam. 



XV. 

MaTUKA AKD DOtfDERA. 

The most distant excursion I made during my sojourn 
in Belligam, was to the southern point of Ceylon, the long- 
celebrated Thunder Cape, Dondera Head. Near this 
point, but a few miles to the westward, is the city of Ma- 
tura, situated on the banks of the Nilwella-ganga (blue 
sand river). The road from Belligam to Matura, which I 
traversed in three hours on the morning of the 18th of 
January, is a continuation of the beautiful palm avenue 
from Galle to Belligam, and abounds in the same pictu- 
resque and agreeably diversified scenery. 



170 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

Matura, which is the most southerly of Ceylon's cities, was, 
during the reign of the Dutch, in the seventeenth century, 
a prosperous and important commercial station, and the 
principal port for the cinnamon trade of the South Prov- 
ince. The most imposing buildings in the city, as well as 
the considerable fort near the mouth of the river on the 
east bank, betray their Dutch origin. The noble stream 
is here about the width of the Elbe at Dresden, and is 
spanned by a handsome new iron suspension bridge. At 
the western end of the bridge, on the right bank of the 
river, is the ancient "Star fort" of the Dutch, in whose 
angular casemates, at the invitation of several hospitable 
English officers, I took up my abode for three or four days. 
The three jolly bachelors had made themselves very com- 
fortable in the low, many angled chambers of the ancient 
fortress, whose massive stone walls preserved the most de- 
lightful coolness. The walls were tastefully adorned, part- 
ly with wood-cuts from various illustrated newspapers, and 
partly with Singhalese weapons, curiosities, and skins of 
animals. Through the ancient Dutch gateway, above 
which the inscription, "Redoute van Eck" may still be 
seen, you enter a neat flower garden; luxuriant creepers 
and climbers decorate the embrasures in the walls and the 
draw-well in the centre of the garden. A pair of tame 
apes and a comical old pelican, as well as some small birds, 
furnish continual amusement. 

A refreshing bath and an excellent English breakfast 
with my friendly hosts, which was keenly relished after the 
vegetarian diet of Belligam, so restored me that I was 
ready in a few hours after my arrival for an excursion to 
Dondera. This I undertook in a carriage, accompanied by 
the Chief Ilaugakuhn, the most distinguished Singhalese 
on the island. He is the last male descendant of the illus- 
trious race of ancient Kandyan kings, and has taken up his 
residence in Matura in a large, handsome, indeed, almost 
sumptuous palace, near the mouth of the river. He had 
called to see me at Belligam the week before, had presented 
me with several rare and beautiful birds, and invited me to 
visit him at Matura. His reception of me was as cordial as 
it was flattering. He would not allow any one but himself 
to drive me to Dondera. His equipage consisted of an ele- 
gant English phaeton, drawn by two splendid Australian 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 171 

horses; the fore-runner was a swift-footed Tamil in a sil- 
ver-embroidered uniform and red turban. 

The charming road from Matura to the five miles distant 
Dondera Head, runs in an easterly direction along the left 
bank of the Nilwella River, through the pettah, the pictu- 
resque " Black Town/' which extends from the east side of 
the fort. The wooded hills between the river and the sea- 
shore, are adorned with flourishing gardens and attractive 
villas, the property of distinguished Singhalese and Eng- 
lish Government officials. Farther on, the road skirts the 
seashore, and occasionally traverses a stretch of jungle or 
cocoa-grove. Here the latter has almost reached its east- 
ern limit; for but a few miles farther are the first of the 
desolate and barren salt marshes, which extend along the 
east coast from Hambantotte to Batticaloa. 

Dondera Head, or Thunder Cape, a considerable projec- 
tion covered with groves of cocoa-palms, is visible for a long 
distance. It is the most southerly point of the island, and 
is situated in 5° 56' JST. latitude. For more than two thou- 
sand years the temples, which [occupy this southern land- 
mark, have been the resort of frequent pilgrimages, and 
are second in fame only to Adam's Peak. Thousands of 
ilgrims annually express their devotion for Dondera 

ead, whose temples have been dedicated alternately to 
Buddha and Vishnu, according to the faith of the predom- 
inant race, whether Singhalese or Malabar. Not longer 
than three hundred years ago, the principal temple was an 
edifice of the highest order of Indian architecture — so ex- 
tensive and imposing, that from the sea it appeared like a 
considerable city with thousands of columns and statues, 
ornamented with gold and precious stones. In 1587 all 
this magnificence was destroyed or carried off by the Portu- 
guese barbarians; but one may even yet obtain an idea of 
the former temple's enormous extent from the numerous 
broken columns which protrude from the ruins. In one 
corner of the latter is an immense dagoba, beside which are 
several colossal old Bo-trees. 

The remains of a smaller temple are on the extreme point 
of the cape; they are octagonal pillars of red porphyry, 
rising solitary and deserted from the bare granite cliffs, en- 
compassed by the surging billows that rage and foam around 
them. In the natural basins between the cliffs I collected 



172 INDIA AND CEYLON 

at low tide a number of interesting sea creatures; lovely- 
bits of coral are scattered everywhere. Westward from this 
isolated lookout, the glance roams along the cocoa-fringed 
strand to Matura; eastward to Tangalla; northward, dark 
forest masses intercept the view; while toward the south 
immeasurable space greets the roving eye. The tiny bark 
of fancy we send from here in full sail toward the south 
will meet with no know land this side of the pole; it would 
sail unhindered around the entire southern half of the 
globe, were it not for the stupendous ice masses of the ant- 
arctic regions, and reach land again only in the northern 
hemisphere,near Acapulco, Mexico. Occupied with thoughts 
like these I sat for a long time on this extreme point of 
Ceylon — also the most southerly point I had ever reached. 
I was roused from my nautical reverie by a company of 
Buddha priests that came to escort Ilaugakuhn and me to 
the flower-adorned temple. Afterwards we visited another 
cyclopean ruin in the adjacent grove, and returned to Ma- 
tura late in the evening. 

The following day (Jan. 19th) was occupied by a distant 
marine excursion in the eight-oared boat which Ilaugakuhn 
had placed at my disposal, and in which I sailed a consid- 
erable distance south of Dondera Head. It was glorious 
summer weather; the vigorous north-east monsoon blew so 
persistently against the large square sail, that two of the 
boatmen were obliged to sit on the outrigger to prevent the 
boat from capsizing. Our speed was almost equal to that 
of a swift steamer; I estimated it at about ten or twelve 
nautical miles an hour. The ease with which these narrow 
Singhalese canoes cut through the waves, or rather glide 
across their crests, was perfectly illustrated by our gallant 
craft. The farther we sailed from the island the more 
beautiful appeared the blue mountains of the highlands 
above the cocoa-forests of the coast — Adam's Peak as usual 
towering conspicuously above all the rest. 

Swift as an arrow w r e sjoed across the foaming billows, and 
had reached a distance of perhaps forty or fifty miles south 
of Dondera Head when we saw a broad, smooth streak in 
the ocean which extended for miles in the direction of the 
monsoon, from north-east to south-west. This I at once de- 
cided to be a pelagic stream or current, one of those smooth, 
narrow water roads which are of frequent occurrence in 



INDIA AND CEYLON. 173 

the Mediterranean as well as in the larger oceans, and 
which owe their origin to the social amalgamation of ex- 
tensive shoals of marine animals. When we drew nearer 
my surmise proved correct, and I was rewarded by an ex- 
traordinarily abundant and interesting catch. A dense mass 
of the most beautiful pelagic animals: medusse, sipho- 
nophora, ctenophora and salpse, sagitta and pteropods, be- 
sides countless numbers of larval worms, star-fish, crabs, 
mollusks, etc., swam about in the greatest confusion, and in 
a short time filled every vessel I had brought with me. I 
was only sorry I could not secure more of these zoological 
treasures (among them were many new and hitherto un- 
described forms) to carry back with me to Europe. Eichly 
laden with this wonderful catch, that promised to supply 
me with interesting work for the remainder of the year, I 
returned late in the afternoon to Mat lira. It was a beau- 
tiful souvenir of the fifth degree of north latitude. My 
Singhalese boatmen knew so well how to adapt the north- 
east monsoon to their use, that the speed of our outward 
voyage was almost equalled by our return* to the island, 
where we landed at the mouth of the Nilwella-ganga. The 
view of the river from the sea is very picturesque, as a large 
rocky island lies like a sentinel directly in its mouth. Both 
shores are clothed with forest. The following day I rowed 
some distance up the river, and again admired the match- 
less exaberence of the primitive forest masses. 

Returned to Belligam I was confronted by the most dif- 
ficult task of any I had yet accomplished in Ceylon — that 
of bidding farewell to this enchanting region of the earth, 
in which I had spent six of the happiest as well as most in- 
teresting months of my life. Even yet the thought of that 
farewell weighs as heavily on my mind as if the parting was 
still before me. The familiar room which, during all this 
time, had served as work, living, and sleeping room, as lab- 
oratory, museum, and studio, in which I had collected a 
wealth of the most exquisite impressions, was empty and 
deserted. Under the giant teak tree in the garden, stood 
the heavily-laden bullock carts which were to carry my 
thirty chests of specimens to Point de Galle. In front of 
the gate waited the dusky inhabitants of the village, to 
whom for forty days I had been an object of constantly-in- 
creasing wonderment and curiosity. I had to take leave 



174 INDIA AND CEYLON. 

personally of all the more distinguished Belligamians, 
at their head the two chiefs who had treated me with un- 
failing courtesy. With a sorrowful mien good old Socrates 
for the last time brought me his choicest bananas, mangoes, 
ananas, and cashew nuts. For the last time Babua climbed 
my favorite palm to pluck for me its golden fruit. But the 
greatest trial of all was the farewell to my faithful Gany- 
mede. The dear lad wept bitterly, and piteously besought 
me to take him to Europe. In yain I told him of the icy 
climate and gray skies of our dreary North — he clasped his 
arms around my knees and yowed that he was ready to follow 
me anywhere. I was almost compelled to force myself from 
his clinging arms, and when I waved a last adieu with my 
handkerchief to all the dear brown friends, I felt as if I 
were quitting Paradise. Beautiful Gem! Bella Gemma. 



THE END. 



.ENOCH MORGANS SONS . 

SAPHIO 

FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING 



The Cheapest and Best 

Scouring Soap, 

IN THE WORLD. 

Price 10c. per Cake. 



^ GKE2STTTI3SnE ULTEE -A.T LAST, FOE BO GTS. 




No House should be without one. Also indispensable to Travelers It is a genuine 
Filter, and will lastforyears. Price, 50 cents, mailed free. STODDARD LOCK CO., 104 Reade St., N. Y. 



A new edition of Canon Farrar's great work, 

EARLY DAYS OF CHRISTIANITY, 

1 Vol., 12mo, cloth, gilt, $1.00 

1 " " half calf. , 2.50 

This edition is printed from large, clear type, on good paper and very attrac- 
tively bound. The half -calf edition will make a very handsome Christmas present 
for your Clergyman or Sunday School Teacher. The above work is also issued in 

2 vols., in neat paper covers, as No. 50, Lovell's Library. 

No. 50. Early Days of Christianity, by Canon Farrar, - Parti, .20 

Recently Published: 

Divorce, an original Novel* by Margaret Lee. 1 Vol. 12mo, neat 

paper cover, ------.-.- .20 

1 Vol., 12mo cloth, black and gold, ------ .50 

A powerful American Novel, dealing with a subject of vital importance at the 
present day. 

JOHN W. LOVELL CO., Publishers, 

14 and 16 Vesey Street, New York. 



STANDARD PUBLICATIONS. 



Chas. Dickens' Complete "Works, 
15 Vols., 12mo, cloth, gilt, $22.50. 

"W. M. Thackeray's Complete 
"Works, 11 Vols., 12mo, cloth, gilt, 
$16.50. 



George Eliot's Complete "Works, 

8 Vol?., 12mo, cloth, gilt, $10.00. 
Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious 

Men, 3 Vols., 12mo. cloth, gilt, 
$4.50. 



JOHN W. LOVELL CO., Publishers, 

14 and 16 Vesey Street, New York. 



STANDARD PUBLICATIONS. 



Bollins' Ancient History, 4 Vols., 
12mo, cloth, gilt, $6.00. 

Charles Knight's Popular His- 
tory of England, 8 vols., 12mo, 
doth, gilt top, $12.00. 



Lovell's Series of Red Lin© 
Poets, 50 Volumes of all the best 
works ofv the -world's great Poets, 
Tennyson, Shakespere, Milton, Mere- 
dith, Ingelow, Proctor, Scott, Byron, 
Dante, &c. $1.25 pe» volume. 
JOHN W. LOVELL CO., Publishers, 

U and 16. Vbsey Street, New York. 



The Three Spaniards, 

A ROMANCE, 
By GEORGE WALKER. 



ITo. IS OF LOVELL'S LIBR, .A.:R,Y, 
PAPER COVERS, 20 CENTS. 



" It possesses all the marked and prominent features' which take fast 
hold upon the ordinary novel reader's fancy at once, and was therefore 
read by old and young with avidity, boys and girls smuggling it into 
their schools and homes, much to the dismay of prudent parents, who 
had already mastered its exciting contents in secret. It is full of a 
most intense kind of interest — love scenes, mysterious men and women, 
emissaries of the Inquisition, priests, bandits, outlaws, dark cells, sub- 
terranean passages, and lovely and unfortunate women, being found 
in every chapter." — Albany Times. 

*' A romance of the most dramatic character, replete with anecdote, 
adventure, and fine descriptive passage. For light reading, this is one 
of the most entertaining of books." — The Dispatch, Pittsburgh. 

" If you read it in the night, it would be apt to make you back into 
bed, so that you might keep your eye on what was going on in your 
room until your head was safely covered by the bed clothes." — The 
Elmira Advertiser. 



FOR SALE BY ALL NEWSDEALERS & BOOKSELLERS- 



JOHN W. LOVELL CO., Publishers, 
14 & 16 Vesey Street, N. Y. 



[January, 1883. 



John W. Lovell Company's 

DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF 

Standard ^ Miscellaneous Books 



Alexander (Mrs.) Works by 

The Wooing O't. By Mrs. Alexander. i vol., i6mo. 

Cloth extra, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, in Lovell's Library, in two parts, each 15 cts. 

The Admiral's Ward. By Mrs. Alexander. 1 vol., i6mo, 

cloth extra, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, in Lovell's Library. In press 20 cts 

American Illustrated Pronouncing Dic- 
tionary of the English Language. Containing upwards of 

25,000 words. Orthography, Pronunciation and Definitions, according to 
the best English and American Lexicographers. With an Appendix con- 
taining Abbreviations, Foreign Words and Phrases, etc. Illustrated with 
over 200 engravings, strongly bound in cloth 30 cts. 

Andersen, (Hans Christian). 

Fairy Tales. By Hans Christian Andersen. New plates, 

large clear type, handsomely printed and illustrated. 1 vol., i2mo, cloth, 
black and gold $100 

Anstey, (F.) 

Vice-Versa, or, a Lesson to Fathers. By F. Anstey. i vol., 

i6mo, cloth extra, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 30 20 cts. 



2 JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 

Arabian Nights Entertainment. 

The Thousand and One Nights. Translated from the Arabic. 
New plates, large clear type, i vol., nmo., illustrated, cloth, black and 

gold (ioo 

Generations of wise fathers and mothers have thoroughly proved the high 
educational value of the Arabian Nights as a book of amusing- stories for 
children. They stimulate young minds and create a taste and desire for read- 
ing at a time when almost all other forms of literature would be irksome and 
■uninstructive. Hardly any one that does not date the first real impulse given 
to his intellectual faculties back to his first acquaintauce with Sinbad the 
Sailor, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, and the History of the En- 
chanted Horse. Beside the infinite enjoyment that is afforded the child, a fam- 
iliarity with the characteristic features of Oriental literature is acquired 
which is of pernianent value in the education of after years. 

Aytoun (William Edmondstone). 

Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and other Poems. By William 
Edmondstone Aytoun, Professor of Rhetoric and .English Literature ia 
the University of Edinburgh. Red Line Edition, "i vol., i2mo. Cloth, 
gilt, gilt edges. $z 25. 
Professor Aytoun has selected his themes from striking incidents and stir- 
ring scenes in mediceval Scotch history, and thrown over them the light of an 
imagination at once picturesque and powerful. Finer ballads than these are 
not to be found in the English language, if in any. Full of the true fire, they 
now stir and swell with the stirring ring of the trumpet, now sink in cadences 
sad and wild as a Highland dirge. We feel, when we read these lays, that we 
are dealing tiot wtih shado7vs, but with living ?nen. The poems which form 
part of the volume with the Lays are gems which, while they add to the poets 
reputatio?i for versatility, add also to his fame ; 7uhat they lack of the heroic 
element which makes the ballads so fascinating, they make up in a charm 
wholly their author's and their own. 

Besant (Walter) and James Rice. 

They Were Married. By Walter Besant and Jambs Rick. 

iomo, paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 18 10 cts, 

Bjornson (Bjornstjerne). 

The Happy Boy and Arne. Tales of Norwegian Country 

Life. Two vols, in one. i6mo, cloth extra, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also, published separately in Lovell's Library — , 

No. 3. The Happy Boy. Paper cover 10 cts. 

No. 4. Arne. Paper covers ; 10 cts. 

Balzac (Honore de). 

The Vendetta ; tales of Love and Passion. By Honore DE 

Balzac, i vol., i6mo, cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also, in paper covers, in Lovell's Library 20 cts. 

Black (William). 

A Princess of Thule. By Wm. Black, i vol., i6mo, cloth 

extra, black and gold 5° cts. 

Also, in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 48 ao cts. 

An Adventure in Thule and Marriage of Moira Fergus. 

By Wm. Black. Paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 40 xo cts. 



DISCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



Broughton (Rhoda). 

Second Thoughts. By Rhoda Broughton, i vol., i6mo, 

cloth, black and gold 5octs. 

Also, in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 23 ' .30 cts. 

Bulwer's Novels. 

One-volume Edition. Containing a selection of the best novels 
of Sir Edward Bi/lwer (Lord Lytton), as follows :— 

The Last Days of Pompeii. Eugene Aram. 

Ernest Maltravers. Pelham. 

Alice. Zanoni. 
Godolphin. 

1 vol., Svo., cloth, black and gold $2 00 

Also see Lytton, Lord. 

Bunyan (John). 

The Pilgrim's Progress from this World to that which is to 

come, delivered under the similitude of a dream. By John Bunyan. 
1 vol., i2mo, illustrated, cloth, black and gold. $1 oe 

Burns (Robert). 

The complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, to which is 

added his correspondence. Large, clear type, new plates. Red Line 
Edition. 1 vol., umo, handsomely bound in cloth, gilt, gilt edges.. $1 25 

Burns is by far the greatest poet that ever sprung from the bosom of the 
people. He was born a poet, if ever man was, and his rank, as Byron said, " is 
the first in his art." He possessed all the essentials of a poet's great humor, 
great powers of description, great discrimination of character, and great pathos. 
His conceptions are all original, his thoughts new, and his style unborrowed. 
His language is familiar, yet dignified, careless, yet concise ; he sheds a re- 
deeming light on all he touches, and whatever he glances at rises into life and 
beauty. His variety is equal to his originality. It is as infinite as his power 
in expression, and the result of these combined faculties has been such verse as 
the world will, in all liklihood, never see again. Long after more pretentious 
rhyme writers have been forgotten, the poet of the fields and of the cotter's cabin 
will be quoted wherever the language he became illustrious in is known. 

Byron, Lord. 

The complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron, printed in clear type 
on good paper. Red Line Edition. 1 vol., i2mo, illustrated, cloth gilt, 
gilt edges , $1 25 

" In the United States, Byron will always occupy a high place as the poet of 
the passions, and it is said, that after Shakespeare he is the most popular of the 
English poets. The least successful of Byron'' s productions, notwithstanding the 
admirable passages with which they abound, are his tragedies; the work that 
gives us the highest notion of his genius, power and versatility is his Don Juan. 
The Don is at times free and almost obscene, and the whole tendency of the poem 
may be considered immoral; but there are scattered throughout it the most 
exquisite pieces of writing and feeluig — inimitable blendings of wit, humor, 
raillery and pathos, and by far the finest 7>erses Byron ever wrote. He may be 
said to have created this manner ; for the Bemesco style of the Italians, to 
which it has beeti compared, is not like it.'" — Life and Literary Labors 0/Xord 
Byron. 



JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 



Californians and Mormons. 

Sketches of American Life, Manners and Institutions. By 

A. F. D. de Rupert, i vol., nmo, cloth, black and gold #i oo 

Campbell (Thomas). 

The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, with Notes and Bio- 
graphical Sketch. Printed in clear type, on good paper. Red Line Edition, 
i vol., i2mo, illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $i 25 

I do not think I overrate the merits 0/ the " Pleasures of Hope" whether 
taking it in its parts, or as a whole, z'« preferring it to any didactic poent in 
the English language. No poet at such an age ever produced such an exquisite 
specimen of poetical mastery; that is, of fine conception and of high art 
combined. Sentiments tender, energetic, impassioned, eloqueiit, majestic, are 
conveyed to the reader in the tones of a 7nusic forever varied, sinking or swelling 
like the harmo?iies of an Aeolian lyre, yet ever delightful ; and these are illus- 
trated by pictures from romance, history, or dotnestic life, replete with power 
atid beauty. — Mom's Lectures on Poetry. 



" Cavendish." 



Card Essays, Clay's Decisions and Card-Table-Talk. By 

" Cavendish," i vol., i6mo, cloth, gilt 75 cts. 

The Laws and Principles of Whist, carefully revised, with 

diagram cards, printed in two colors; to which is added Card Essays, 
Clay's Decisions and Card -Table Talk, with portrait of "Cavendish." 
1 vol., i6mo, cloth, black and gold $1 50 

Chancer (Geoffrey). 

The Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, with Memoir. 

Printed in clear type, on good paper. Red Line Edition. 1 vol., i2mo. 
Illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $1 25 

Chaucer has well been called the father of English poetry. In elocution 
and eloquence, in grace and harmony of versification, he surpassed all his pre- 
decessors, and for the first time i?i English literature created verse which was 
true poetry, not 7tiere doggrel rhyme. His genius was universal, and the themes 
he exercised, it in, consequently, of boundless variety. He painted familiar 
manners with the touch of a master, which to this day impresses the reader 0/ 
the pages penned five centuries ago with the haunting idea that the poet's char- 
acters are alive and moving in a pageant before him. His humor was as natu- 
ral and unforced as his pathos was deep, his sentiment pure, and his passion 
fiery and genuine. It was Coleridge who said of Chaucer, " I take uticeasing 
delight in him. His ma7ily cheerfulness is especially delicious to me in my old 
age. How exquisitely tender he is, yet how perfectly free from the least touch 
of sickly melancholy or jnorbid drooping." The verdict of Coleridge has been 
the verdict of the whole reading world. 

Child's History of England. 

Child's History of England. By Charles Dickens, A New 

Edition for the use of Schools. With numerous illustrations. Printed from 
large type, illustrated, 1 vol., i2mo $1 00 

Charles Dickens wrote the Child's History of Englatid for his own children, 
because as he himself says, he could find nothing in the whole line of English 
histories just suitable for them; at a time when they were beginning to read 
with interest and profit, but not sufficie?itly advanced to take up the great 



DISCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



standard authors. It was a labor of love, and had been well appreciated by the 
multitudes of young people who have gained their first knowledge of history 
from this delightful little volume. It is writte?i in the most pure and simple 
language, and has for young readers all the picturesque and vivid interest that 
one of the author's novels possesses for the older ones. All the great characters 
of English history become as familiar, atid produce as permanent impressions, 
as the heroes of the Arabian Nights and of the other favorite books of childhood. 
It is not only indispensable in every household where any care at all is bestowed 
upon the education of children, but is also one of the best brief and compendious 
histories of England for all classes of readers. 



Also see Dickens (Charles). 



Children of the Abbey. 



A Tale. By Regina Maria Roche, i vol., i2mo, illustrated, 

cloth, gilt $i oo 

Of all the once popular novels of this once famous novelist, the " Children 
of the Abbey" alone remains. From the time of its first republication in this 
country it has retained its place in popular favor. No better example of the 
novel of our grandfathers could be found, and few more interesting ones are 
written in these days of the grandchildren. 

Coleridge (Samuel Taylor). 

The Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. With an 

introduction and Memoir. Red Line Edition, i vol., i2mo, cloth, gilt- 
edges ... $i 25 

Of all the illustrious English men of letters, Coleridge, with his spacious 
intellect, his subtle and comprehensive intelligence, holds rank with the first. 
As a poet he will live -with the language. On his i?icomparable " Gettevieve" 
he has lavished all the melting graces of poetry and chivalry ; in his " Ancient 
Mariner 3 '' he has sailed, and in his " Christabel" flown to the very limits of in- 
vention and belief ; and in his chant of "Fire, Famine and Slaughter" he has 
revived the startling strains of the furies, and given us a song worthy the 
prime agents of perdition. 

Collins (Wilkie). 

The Moonstone. By Wilkie Collins, i vol., i6mo, cloth, 

black and gold 50 cts. 

Also, in two volumes, Nos. 8 and 9, Lovell's Library, each 10 cts. 

The New Magdalen. By Wilkie Collins, i vol., i6mo, 

cloth, black and gold ... 50 cts. 

Also, in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 24 20 cts. 

Cooper (J. Fenimore). 

The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757. By J. 
Fenimore Cooper. Printed from large, clear type. 1 vol., i2mo, cloth, 
black and gold ^ % 1 00 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 26 20 cts. 

The Spy. By J. Fenimore Cooper. i6mo, paper covers, 

Lovell's Library, No. 53 20 cts. 

Cowper (William). 

The complete Poetical Works of William Cowfer. Printed 

from new plates, large, clear type, handsomely illustrated. Red Line 
Edition. 1 vol., ismo, cloth, black and gold, gilt edges $1 25 



JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 



Cowper was the poet of well educated and ivell principled England. His 
muse was abjure as his style, and his life conformed to both. His "Task" is a 
poem of such i?ifinite variety that it seems to include all possible subjects. It 
contains pictures of domestic comfort arid social refinement which can only be 
forgotten with the language itself. 

Crabbe (G-eorge). 

The Poetical Works of George Crabbe. Red Line Edition. 

i vol., i2mo, illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $i 2^ 

Dr. Johnson, to whom Crabbers first poem, " The Village" was submitted, 
pronounced it li original, vigorous and elegant." The public endorsed the great 
lexicographer 1 s opinion, and Crabbe deserved it. His genius was essentially 
analytic and humane. He had a -mortal hatred of wrong, and was never so 
active as when laying it bare to the world. 



Dante Alighieri. 



The Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, of Dante 

Alighieri, Translated by the Rev. Henry Francis Cary, A. M. With the 
life of Dante and Chronological View of his age. Red Line Edition. 
1 vol., i2mo, illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $1 25 

Of all the translations of Dante, Cary's has been conceded the most success- 
ful. It is executed with perfect fidelity and admirable skill. It would be 
impossiblle to transfer the lines of the great Italian poet into our language with 
any closer preservation of their beauties of rhythm and meaning than Mr. 
Cary has succeeded i?i accomplishing. 

Detlef (Carl). 

Irene; or, the Lonely Manor. By Carl Detlef. i vol., 

i6mo, cloth, black and gold 50 cts 

Also, in paper covers, in Lovell's Library, No. 29 20 cts| 



De Quincy (Thomas). 



The Spanish Nun. By Thomas De Quincy. i6mo, paper 

covers, Lovell's Library, No. 20 10 cts. 

Dickens-Collins Xmas Stories. 

No Thoroughfare and Two Idle Apprentices. By Charles 

Dickens and Wilkie Collins, i vol., ismo, cloth, black and gold, $1 00 

Dickens (Charles). 

Charles Dickens' Complete Works. Lovell's Popular Illus- 
trated Edition. Printed from entirely new electrotype plates, large clear 
type, with over 150 illustrations by Phiz, Barnard, Green, etc., etc. 



I. Pickwick Papers. 
II. David Copperfield. 

III. Martin Chuzzlewit. 

IV. Nicholas Nickleby. 



V. Bleak House. 
VI. Little Dorrit. 
VII. Dombey and Son. 
VIII. Our Mutual Friend. 



IX. Oliver Twist, Pictures from Italy, and American Notes. 
X. Old Curiosity Shop and Hard Times. 
XI. Tale of Two Cities and Sketches by Boz. 
XII. Barnaby Rudsre and Mystery of Edwin Drood. 



DISCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 7 

Dickens (Charles)-CoNTiNUED. 

XIII. Great Expectations, Uncommercial Traveller, and 

Miscellaneous. 
XIV. Christmas Stories and Reprinted Pieces. 
XV. Child's History of England and Miscellaneous. 

IS V0l6., I2IT10, Cloth, gilt $32 SO 

IS vols., i2mo, half Russia 33 00 

15 vols., i2mo, half calf 45 00 

Also published separately. 

Child's History of England. By Charles Dickens, i vol., 

i2mo, cloth, black and gold |i 00 

Oliver Twist. By Charles Dickens, i vol., i2mo, cloth, 

black and gold. $1 00 

Also, in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 10 20 cts. 

A Tale of Two Cities. By Charles Dickens, i vol., i2mo, 

cloth, black and gold . $1 00 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 38 20 cts. 

Dictionary of the Bible. 

By Edward Robinson, D.D., with a history of the Bible, by 
William Smith, LL.D. i vol., kdio, cloth, gilt $1 25 

Don Quixote de la Mancha. 

Translated from the Spanish of Miguel de Cervantes Saave- 
dra. By Charles Jarvis. Carefully revised and corrected. Printed 
from new plates, large clear type, illustrated. 1 vol., i2mo r cloth, gilt, $1 00 

Dore Gallery. 

The Dore Gallery of Bible Stories, illustrating the principal 
events in the Old and New Testaments, with descriptive Text by Josephine 
Pollard, i large 4to volume, magnificently illustrated by Gustave Dore. 
Cloth, gilt $3 00 



Dryden (John). 



The Poetical Works of John Dryden. Red Line Edition. 

1 vol., i2mo, illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $ 1 25 

To read him is as bracing- as a northwest wind. He blows the mind clear. 
In ripeness and bluff heartiness of expression he takes ra7ik with the best. . 
To be among the first in any kind of writing, as Dryden certainly was, is to be 
me of a very small company. — John Russell Lowell. 

Eliot (G-eorge), Works of 

The Complete Works of George Eliot, beautifully printed 

from large, clear type, on good paper, and handsomely bound in cloth. 

8 vols., i2mo, cloth, black and gold $10 00 

8 vols., " on better paper, cloth, gilt top 1200 

8 vols., " " half calf 2400 



I. Middlemarch. 
II. Daniel Deronda. 

III. Romola. 

IV. Felix Holt. 



V. Romola. 
VI. The Mill on the Floss. 
VII. Scenes from Clerical Life 
and Silas Marner. 



VIII. The Spanish Gypsey, Jubal and other Poems, and 
Theophrastws Such. 



8 



JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 



Eliot (George).— Continued. 

Also published separately. 

Adam Bede. By George Eliot, i vol., i2mo, cloth, black 

and gold ■. . . . $i oo 

Also in paper covers, in two parts, Lovell's Library No. 56, each 15 cts. 



English. Men of Letters. 



English Men of Letters, edited by John Morley. A series of 
Brief Biographies by the most eminent literary men of the day. 5 vols., 
i2mo. Printed from fine clear type, on good paper, handsomely bound in 
doth, gilt $3 73 

Any volume sold separately, bound in cloth, gilt. 75 cts. 



Vol. I. contains 
Burns, by Principal Shairp. 
Byron, by Professor Nichol. 
Milton, by Mark Pattison. 
Shelley, by J. A. Symonds. 

Vol. II. contains 
Chaucer, by Prof. A. W. Ward. 
Oowper, by Goldwin Smith. 
Pope, by Leslie Stephen. 
Southey, by Prof. Dowden. 



Vol. III. contains 
Bunyan, by J. A. Froude. 
Spenser, by the Dean of St. Paul's. 
Locke, by Thomas Fowler. 
Wordsworth, by F. Myers. 

Vol. IV. contains 
Burke, by John Morley. 
Gibbon, by J. C. Morison. 
Hume, by Prof. Huxley. 
Johnson, by Leslie Stephen. 



Volume V. contains 
Defoe, by William Minto. 
Goldsmith^ by William Black. 
Scott, by R. H. Hutton. 
Thackeray, by Anthony Trollope. 
Each Biography is also issued separately, in neat paper cover, price, including 



postage, 10 cents, viz. 
Bunyan, by J. A. Froude. 
Burke, by John Morley. 
Burns, by Principal Shairp. 
Byron, by Professor Nichol. 
Chaucer, by Prof. A. W. Ward. 
Oowper, by Goldwin Smith. 
Defoe, by William Minto. 
Gibbon, by J. C. Morison. 
Goldsmith, by William Black. 
Hume, by Professor Huxley. 
Johnson, by Leslie Stephen. 



Locke, by Thomas Fowler. 

Milton, by Mark Pattison. 

Pope, by Leslie Stephen. 

Scott, by R. H. Hutton. 

Shelley, by J. Symonds. 

Southey, by Prof. Dowden. 

Spenser, by the Dean of St. 
Paul's. 

Thackeray, by Anthony Trol- 
lope. 

Wordsworth, by F. Myers. 



Farrar (F. W., D.D.) Works of 

Seekers after God. By F. W. Farrar, D.D. 1 vol., i6mo, 

cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 19 20 cts. 

Early Days of. Christianity. By F. W. Farrar, D.D. 1 vol., 

i2mo, cloth, gilt $1 00 

Also in paper covers, LovelF s Library, No. 50, in two parts, each 20 cts. 



DISCRIPTIVE CA TAL O G UE. 



Favorite Pocket Dictionary of the Eng- 
lish Language. 

Based on the labors and principles of the latest and best Ameri- 
can and English authorities, i vol., i6mo, 320 pages, cloth 25 cts. 



Favorite Poems. 

Selections from the writings of the best Poets, with many poems 
by American authors. Red Line Edition. 1 vol., nmo, cloth, gilt, gilt 
edges .' $1 25 

The most popular poems in the language have a place in this volume. Selec- 
ted and edited with great care, they form a collection such as has never before 
been presented to the public, and one which is almost indispensable wherever the 
refined love for literature in its highest and most refined form exists. 

Feuillet (Octave). 

Marriage in High Life. By Octave Fetjillet, translated 

by Olive Logan, i vol., i6mo, cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 41 20 cts. 

Frankenstein ; 

Or, the Modern Prometheus. By Mary Wollstonecraft 

Shelley, i vol., i6mo, cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, i2mo, 177 pages, Lovell's Library No. 5 10 cts. 

Sir Walter Scott has said : 

" Frankstein" has passages which appal the mind and make the flesh 
creep." 

WJiile Thornton Hunt, speaking of Mrs. Shelley, says : 

" Her command of History and her imiginative power, are shown in such 
a book as, " Valperga ; " but the daring originality of her mind comes out most 
distinctly in her earliest published work, 'Frankenstein.' 



G-eorge (Henry). 



Progress and Poverty. By Henry George. i6mo, paper 

covers, Lovell's Library No. 52 20 cts. 

Let us say, at the outset, that this is not a work to be brushed aside with 
lofty indifference or cool disdain. It is not the production of a visionary or a 
sciolist, of a meager ly equipped or ill-regulated mind. The writer has brought 
to his undertaking a comprehensive kuowledge of the data and principles of 
science, and his skill in exposition and illustration attests a broad acquaintance 
with history and literature. Few books have, in recent years, proceeded from 
any American pen which have more plainly borne the marks of wide learning 
and strenuous thought, or which have brought to the expounding of a serious 
theme a happier faculty of elucidation. — New York Sun. 



Gibbon (Charles). 



The Golden Shaft. By Chas. Gibbon, i vol., i6mo, cloth, 

black and gold 50 cts. 

Also, in paper covers, in Lovell's Library, No. 57 20 cts. 



io JOHN IV. LOVELL COMPANY'S 

G-oldsmith (Oliver). 

The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith. Red Line Edition. 

i vol., i2ino, illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $i 25 

Vicar of Wakefield. By Oliver Goldsmith. Paper covers, 

Lovell's Library, No. 51 10 cts. 

Also included, in 1 vol., cloth, i2mo, with Paul and Virginia and Rasselas,$i 00 

Goldsmith, both hi prose and verse, is one of the most delightful writers in 
the language. His verse flows like a limped stream. His Traveller is one of the 
most finished and noble poems ever written. His Deserted Village is a master- 
piece, full of an accuracy of nature, in one of its sweetest phases, and a pro- 
found pathos iuexpressfbly touching and powerful. 

Grant (James). 

The Secret Dispatch. By James Grant. i vol., i6mo, 

cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 49 20 cts. 

Grimm Brothers. 

Grimm's Popular Tales. Collected by the Brothers Grimm. 

Printed from new plates, large, clear type, handsomely illustrated. 1 vol., 
i2mo, cloth, black and gold $100 

Gulliver's Travels and Baron Mun- 
chausen. 

Gulliver's Travels. By Dean Swift, to which is added The 
Travels and Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen. 2 vols. 
in one, i2mo. Illustrated, cloth, black and gold §1 00 

See also Swift (Dean). 

Halevy (Lndovic). 

L'Abbe Oonstantine. By Ludovic Halevy. i vol., i6mo, 

cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library, No. 15 20 cts. 



Hatton (Joseph), 



Oiytie. A Novel. By Joseph Hatton. i vol., i2mo, 

Lovell's Standard Library, cloth, black and gold $1 00 

Also in Lovell's popular library, 1 vol., i6mo, cloth, extra black and gold.50 cts. 
Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library, No. 7 20 cts. 

Hardy (Thomas). 

Two on a Tower. By Thomas Hardy, i vol., i6mo, cloth, 

black and gold 50 cts. 

Also, in paper covers, Lovell's Library, No. 43 20 cts. 

Hemans (Mrs. Felicia). 

The Poetical Works of Mrs. Felicia Hemans, edited with a 
critical Memoir by William Michael Rossetti. Illustrated by Thomas 
Secombe. Printed from new plates, large clear type. Red Line Edition. 1 
voL, i2mo. Illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $1 25 



DISCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. n 

Mrs. Hemans has been called the most popular of female foe ts. Her genius 
was of the domestic order, and its em i nations found the safest of all abiding 
places, that of the family and the fireside. She shows high sentiment and 
heoric feeling now and then, but her affections are with the gentle, the meek 
and the wounded in spirit. She is the authoress of many a plaintive and 
mournful strain, and her poetry throughout is intensely feminine. " Her best 
songs," as Allan Cunningham wrote, " have been rightly ?iamcdofthe affections." 

Henley (Leonard). 

Life of Washington. By Leonard Henley, i vol. i6mo. 

cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, LovelPs Library, No. 26 *. 20 cts. 



Herbert (George). 



The works of George Herbert in prose and verse, edited from 

the latest editions, with Memoir, explanatory notes, &c. Printed from new 
plates, large clear type, handsomely illustrated. Red Line Edition. 1 
vol., i2mo, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $1 25 

The poems of George Herbert have stood the crucial test of two centuries of 
criticisms and come out pure gold. With their intense devotional feeling, they 
combine a quaint sweetness of expression and an earnest fluency of diction which 
lend them a charm peculiarly their own. His homlier poems, those on which the 
ingenuity of his cultivated mind was not lavished, but which were thrown off 
as the spontaneous productions of his unconventional muse. A model of a man 
and a clergyman, Herbert may almost be held up as a model of a poet too. 

Homer. 

The Odyssey of Homer. Translated by Alexander Pope, 

with notes and introduction by the Rev. T. A. Buckley, M.A.,F.S.A. 
Red Line Edition. With Flaxman's Designs. 1 vol., i2mo, cloth, black 
and gold, gilt edges $1 25 

The Iliad of Homer. Translated by Alexander Pope, with 

notes and introduction by the Rev. T. A. Buckley, M.A., F.S.A. Red 
Line Edition. With Flaxman's Designs. 1 vol., i2mo, cloth, black and 
gold, gilt edges $1 25 

Pope's translation of the Iliad was unquestionably the greatest literary 
labor ever executed. Dr. Johnson pronounced it the noblest verswi of poetry 
the world had ever seen, and called it a treasure of poetical elegance. It is in 
fact a marvelous work for purity of language and grace of style. There have 
been more faithful translations of Homer in the literal sense, but none which 
approached that of Pope in literary value. 

Hood (Thomas). 

The choice works of Thomas Hood, in Prose and Verse, includ- 
ing the cream of the Comic Annuals, with Life of the Author. Portrait 

and over 200 illustrations. 1 vol., i2mo, 780 pp., cloth $2 00 

Cheaper edition, 1 vol., i2mo, cloth, black and gold 1 00 

The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood. Red Line Edition. 1 vol., i2mo, illus- 
trated, cloth, gilt, gilt edges $1 25 

Hood's verse, whether serious or comic, is ever pregnant with materials for 
thoughts. Like every author distinguished for true comic humor, there is a deep 
vein of melancholy pathos running through his mirth. The same genius that 
created the Lost Boy gave birth to the Song of the Shirt, the Bridge of Sighs, 
and the Dream of Eugene Aram. While his lighter works bristle with wit and 
fine sarcasm, his serious ones are pregnant with such tenderness and such sense 
of nature, animate and inanimate, as few poets have erer peered* 



JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 



Houdin (Robert). 

The Tricks of the Greeks Unveiled ; or, The Art of Win- 
ning at every Game. By Robert Houdin. Translated by M. I. Smith- 
son, i vol., i6mo, cloth, black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 14 ."20 cts. 



Ingelow (Jean). 



The complete Poetical Works of Jean Ingelow. Printed in 

clear type, on good paper. Red Line Edition. 1 vol., i2mo. Illustrated, 
cloth, gilt, gilt edges « 1 25 

The world has see?i few sweeter singers than "Jean Ingelow. Her poetical 
works ha7)e obtained a circulatio?i and a popularity equally deserved. Her love 
of nature has found vent in simple lays which have stolen their ways to num- 
berless hearts^ while her poetic instinct has evinced itself in works of a high 
order of picturesqueness and art. 



Ivanhoe. 



By Sir Walter Scott, Bart. From the last Edinburgh edition, 

with the author's final notes and corrections. 1 vol. i2mo. Illustrated 
cloth, gilt 1 00 

Ivanhoe was given to the world in 1820, and within the year had been trans- 
lated into most European languages. " Scott ' s bosom," says Prescott, " warmed 
with a sympathetic glow for the age of chivalry. No one ca7iform an idea of 
the people who moved, in it, of Richard Cceur de Lion and his brave paladins, 
that has not read Ivanhoe" 

James (Gk P. R) 

One- Volume Edition. Containing a selection of the best novels 
of this popular writer: — 

One in a Thousand. Philip Augustus. 

Richelieu. The Gypsy. 

The Robbers. The Ancient Regime. 

The Gentleman of the Old School. 

1 vol., 8vo, cloth, black and gold $2 50 



Jay (Harriett). 



The Dark Colleen. By Harriett Jay. i vol., i6mo, cloth, 

extra black and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 17. 20 cts. 

Junius' s Letters. 

The Letters of Junius. Woodfall's edition. From the latest 
London edition. 1 vol. i2ino, cloth, black and gold $1 25 

These letters of that mysterious genius "Junius, whose identity is not known 
to this day, are reprinted from the edition issued by his own publisher, Wood- 
fall. The classic purity of their language, the force and perspicuity of their 
arguments, the keen severity of their reproach, and the extensive information 
they evince, place these celebrated epistles in the first rank of English literature. 



DISCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 13 

Keats (John). 

The Poetical Works of John Keats. Red Line Edition. 1 
vol., iamo. Illustrated, cloth, gilt edges , . . . . $1 25 

In his Endymion Keats created a work which the critics have not. done dis- 
puting over yet, but which the reading public acknowledges to be one of the most 
startling, novel, and fantastically beautiful epics which the muse of any modem 
mortal ever formed a conception of Two 7vorks in which Keats is seen to 
his best advantage are his Lamia and Isabella. These, as well as his minor 
poems, are all included in the above edition. 

Kingsley (Charles). 

The Hermits. By Chas. Kingsley. i vol. i6mo, cloth, black 

and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library No. 39 20 cts. 

Hypatia. By Chas. Kingsley. i vol., i6mo, cloth, black 

and gold 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library, in two parts, each 15 cts 

Knight (Charles). 

Popular History of England, from the landing of Julius 
Caesar to the death of Prince Albert. By Charles Knight. Lib- 
rary Edition. 8 vols.; 12010. 160 illustrations, cloth, gilt top $12 00 

The same, popular edition, 4 vols., i2mo. 32 illustrations, cloth, gilt... .$6 00 

Knight's History oj England has taken its place among the standard chron- 
icles o_f the world. The critics pronounced the author, in co?isideration of his 
valuable work " one of the first literary benefactors of the age." The style is 
easy and graceful, and free from all the ponderousness and dryness of descrip- 
tion which render so many histories unreadable. 

Lamb (Charles). 

The Complete Works, in Prose and Verse, of Charles Lamb, 

from the original edition, with the cancelled passages restored, and many 
pieces now first collected. Edited and prefaced by A. H. Shepherd, i 
vol., i2mo. Illustrated, 790 pp., cloth, extra gilt $2 00 

Language and Poetry of Flowers. 

Language and Poetry of Flowers. Selected from the best 

authors. Red Line Edition. 1 vol., i2mo. Illustrated, cloth, gilt, gilt 
edges $1 25 

Last Days of Pompeii. 

See Lord Lytton. 

Last of the Mohicans. 

See Cooper (J. Fenimore). 

Lee (Margaret). 

Divorce. By Margaret Lee. i vol., i6mo. cloth, black and 

gold 5° cts. 

Also in paper Covers, Lovell's Library, No. 25 20 cts. 



i 4 JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 

Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay. 

By his nephew George Otto Trevelyan, M.P. Two volumes 

in one. i vol., i2mo., cloth, gilt $i 2$ 

The personality of Macaulay is marked in his written life as clearly as he 
ever marked that of any of his historic heroes. The letters and papers, the 
frag?nents of the great chronicler' 's work thus rescued from oblivion, are a mine 
of interest. The reader to whom Macaulay the litterateur has become familiar 
through his own productions, will never knoiv Macaulay the man until he 
learns him through the medium of his nephew' s pen picture. 

Longfellow (H. W.) Works 

Hyperion. A Romance. By H. W. Longfellow. 1 vol., 

i6mo, cloth, gilt 5° cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library, No. 1 20 cts. 

Outre-Mer. A Pilgrimage beyond the Sea. By H. W. Long- 
fellow. 1 vol., i6mo, cloth, gilt 50 cts. 

Also in paper covers, Lovell's Library, No. 2 20 cts. 

Lovell's Red Line Poets. 

Lovell's Red Line Edition of the Poets. Without doubt 

the finest and most complete edition of the poets ever issued in this country, 
at a low price. In i2mo volumes, illustrated, handsomely bound in cloth, 
black and gold, gilt edges $1 sj 

Arnold. Goldsmith. Pope. 

Aytoun. He mans. Procter. 

Burns. Hood. Religious Poems. 

Byron. Herbert. Schiller. 

Browning. Iliad. Scott. 

Chaucer. Ingelow. Shakspeare. 

Campbell. Keats. Shelley. 

Cowper. Kirke White. Spenser. 

Crabbe. Lucile. Taylor's Philip van 

Coleridge. Milton. Artevald. 

Dante. Moore. Tennyson. 

Dryden. Macaulay. Thomson. 

Eliot. Meredith. Tupper. 

Eliza Cook. Ossian. Virgil. 

Favorite Poems. Odyssey White, Kirke. 

Goethe. Poe. Willis. 

Goethe's Faust. Poetry of Flowers. Wordsworth. 



DISCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



H 



Lovell's Library, 



12. 

13. 
14. 



Under the title of "Lovell's Library; a Weekly Publica- 
tion," the undersigned have commenced the publication of all the best 
works in Current and Standard Literature. It is believed that this issue 
will be found superior to anything heretofore attempted, especially in the 
following points : First — The type will be larger and the print consquently 
clearer. Secotid — The size being the popular i2mo, will be found much 
more pleasant and convenient to handle. Third — Each number will have 
a handsome paper cover ; and this, in connection with the size, will make it 
worthy of preservation. 

NUMBERS NOW READY : 



CENTS. 

Hyperion, by Longfellow, 20 
Outre-Mer, by Longfel- 
low 20 

The Happy Boy, by 

Bjornson 10 

Arne, by Bjornson 10 

Frankenstein, by Mrs. 

Shelley 10 

The Last of the Mohi- 



cans 

Olytie, byjoseph Hatton, 
8. The Moonstone, byWil- 



kie Collins, Part 1 10 

Do. Part II 10 

Oliver Twist, by Dickens, 20 
The Coming Race; or 

the New Utopia, by Lord 

Lytton 10 

Leila; or the Siege of 

Granada,byLord Lytton, 10 

The Three Spaniards, 
by George Walker 20 

The Tricks of the Greeks 
Unveiled, by Robert Hou- 
din 20 



15. L'Abbe Oonstantin, by 

Ludovic Halevy, author 
of ll La Fille de Mme. 
Angot," etc ... 20 

16. Freckles,by Rebecca Fer- 

gus Redcliff. A new orig- 
inal story 20 



CENTS. 

r. The Dark Colleen, by 
Mrs. Robert Buchanan, 20 

18. They were Married, by 

Walter Besant and James 
Rice 10 

19. Seekers after God, by 

Canon Farrar 20 

20. The Spanish Nun, by 

Thos. De Quincey 10 

21. The Green Mountain 

Boys, by Judge D. P. 
Thompson 20 

22. Fleurette, by Eugene 

Scribe 20 

23. Second Thoughts, by 

Rhoda Broughton 20 

24. The New Magdalen, by 

Wilkie Collins 20 

25. Divorce, byMargaret Lee, 20 

26. Life of Washington, by 

Leonard Henley 20 

27. Social Etiquette 5 by 

Mrs. W. A. Saville ... 15 

28. Single Heartand Double 

Face, by Chas. Reade. . 10 

29. Irene; or, the Lonely 

Manor 20 

30. Vice- Versa, by F.Anstey, 20 

31. Ernest Maltravers, by 

Lord Lytton 20 



i6 



JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY'S 



Lo veil's Library— Continued. 

CENTS. 

32. The Haunted House and 

Calderon the Courtier, 
by Lord Lytton 10 

33. John Halifax, by Miss 

Mulock 20 

34. 800 Leagues on the Am- 

azon, by Jules Verne ... 10 

35. The Cryptogram, by 

Jules Verne 10 

36. Life of Marion, by Horry 

and Weeras 20 

37. Paul and Virginia 10 

38. Tale of Two Cities, by 

Charles Dickens 20 

39. The Hermits, by Rev. 

Charles Kingsley 20 



40. An Adventure in Thule; 

and Marriage of Moira 
Fergus, by Wm. Black, 10 

41. A Marriage in High 

Life, by Octave Feuillet, 20 

42. Robin, by Mrs. Parr 20 

43. Two on a Tower, by 

Thomas Hardy 20 

44. Rasselas, by Samuel John- 

son 10 

45. Alice; or the Mysteries, 

being Part II. of Ernest 
Maltravers 20 

46. Duke of Kandos, by A. 

Mathey 20 

47. Baron Munchausen 10 



A Princess of Thule, by 



Wm. Black 20 

49. The Secret Despatch, 

Grant 20 

50. Early Days of Christ- 

ianity, by Canon Farrar, 

D.D., Parti 20 

Do. Part II 20 

51. Vicar of Wakefield, by 

Oliver Goldsmith 10 



cents. 
Progress and Poverty, 

by Henry George 20 

The Spy, by J. Fenimore 

Cooper 20 

East Lynne,by Mrs. Hen- 
ry Wood 20 

A Strange Story, by Lord 

Lytton 20 

Adam Bede, by George 

Eliot, Part 1 15 

Do. Pat II 15 

The Golden Shaft, by 

Charles Gibbon 20 

Portia : or by Passions 
Rocked, by "The Duch- 
ess" 20 

59. Last Days of Pompeii, 

by Lord Lytton 20 

60. The Two Duchesses, by 

A. Mathey ; 20 

Hypatia, by P^ev. Charles 

Kingsley, Part 1 15 

Do. Part'II 15 

The Vendetta. Tales of 
Love and Passion, by Ho- 
nore de Balzac 20 

Gulliver's Travels, by 

Dean Swift 20 

Horse Shoe Robinson, 
by Kennedy, Part I. . . . 15 
Do. Part II... 15 

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte 

Bronte 20 

The Wooing 0't,byMrs. 

Alexander, Part 1 15 

Do. Part II 15 

The Admiral's Ward, 
* by Mrs. Alexander*. 20 

John Wynne's Wives, 
by C. M. Clay, author 
of "The Modern Hagar," 20 



The Right and Wrong 
Uses of the Bible! 



Many important, and, to reverent minds, serious questions 
are discussed by the Rev. R. Heber Newton, in his nowv 
famous sermons, collected and published in 

Lovell's Library, 

Bearing- the title of 

"THE RIGHT AND WRONG USES OF THE 
BIBL.E." 



1 Volume 16mo, handsome paper-covers, . . 20 cents. 
do. do. cloth, red edges, .... 75 



Mr. Newton's sermons are creating more controversy in the 
religious world of this Country, than any work since the 
publication, of Ecce Homo, or Bishop Colenso's book on the penta- 
teuch. Clear and masterly in stvle, there is no mvstic rhetoric 



to hide the true meaning of Mr. Newton's logic. 

For sale by all booksellers and new; 
on receipt of price, by the publishers 



For sale by all booksellers and newsdealers, or sent postage paid 



JOHK W. LOVELL CO., 

14 and 16 Vesey Street, New TorJc. 



THE 



LUSTRi 



POLISHES 

Are Unrivalled in their Excellence, and always give 

Satisfaction. 
LUSTRO METAL POLISH, for Silver, Nickel, &c. 
LUSTRO SHOE DRESSING, for Ladies' and Children's Shoes. 
LUSTRO STOVE POLISH, for Manufacturers' and Household use. 
LUSTRO BOY)T AND SHOE POLISH, superior to all others. 

Beware of Imitations. For Sale Everywhere. 

NOW READY: "~ — 

_E__H]__*__:RT j^JSTJD SpiEDSTCB, 

By Wilkie Collins, 

No. 85 OF LQVELL'S LIBRARY, Handsome Paper Covers, .... 20 Cents. 
This is Wilkie Collins' last novel, and is equal to his " Woman in White," 
and " The Moonstone.'" It deals with current topics of great interest, making it 
particularly exciting and impressive. 



THE RIGHT AND WEONG USES OF THE BIBLE. 

By Rev. R. Heber Newton, 

No. 83 LOVELL'S LIBRARY. Paper Covers, 20 Cents, Cloth, Bed Edges, . 75 Cents. 
A collection of sermons dealing with many momentous questions concerning 
-the Bible. Mr. New.to : ves his reasoning in this -volume, in a clear and masterly 
style. The controversy wnich these sermons have caused in the press has made a 
wide-spread demand for them in hook form. 



EARLY DAYS OF CHRISTIANITY, 
By Canon Farrar, . 

Author of ''SEEKERS AFTER GOD." 

No. 50 LOVELL'S LIBRARY. Part I. and II, Paper, 20 Cents eachj Cloth, . . $1.00. 
Canon Farrar probably writes the most beautiful and eloquent English of 
any man living. " Early Days of Christianity " must be nlaced in the fore front of 
his delightful and powerful" books. Kb student of Christianity can do without 
reading it. 
r ____ 



__ 



— 







.v- 






\ *• ^nvO^T^, ' ' Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 

^j^ v^ o j^>g^k/l> * 'fo Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 

i2 Hfe 1 . " Treatment Date: Feb. 2003 

c . \^^v ^ x PreservationTechnologies 

* 8 I "V * V A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

\ ' x s 111 Thomson Park Drive 

^, Cranbe/ry Township, PA 16066 



.«! <> 



i"3> .f> 



^^^m 


















-•. 



• 






,0o. 






































£% 






m 



ifl 



■ ■ ■■ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




HaHl HH 



!■ III 



I 111;; I $m ill 



HB If VUVHlHIIIW 



I 



!il 



DHH 



